J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Colour Studies of the Sun, Skies and ... > Skies Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of a Cloudy Sky’ c.1818
Folio 27 Recto:
Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818
D12475
Turner Bequest CLVIII 27
Watercolour on white wove paper, 125 x 247 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘27’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 27’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
In this lively sketch Turner has used blank areas of white paper and streaks of grey and blue paint to convey an impression of billowing clouds moving across the sky. Heavier grey clouds are beginning to form towards the bottom of the composition.
See the sketchbook’s Introduction for general notes on possible locations and dating.
Technical notes:
There is a small brown stain in the lower right-hand corner, possibly caused by water damage sustained in the 1928 Tate Gallery flood.
Verso:
Blank

Caitlin Doley
July 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818’, catalogue entry, July 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, October 2024, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/study-of-a-cloudy-sky-r1208899, accessed 22 November 2024.