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 57 Recto:
Study of a Cloudy Sky c.1818
D12505
Turner Bequest CLVIII 57
Watercolour on white wove paper, 125 x 247 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘57’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 57’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
In this barely developed composition Turner has used blank areas of white paper and washes of blue and grey paint to evoke a cloudy skyscape.
See the sketchbook’s Introduction for general notes on possible locations and dating.
Technical notes:
Some dark stains are visible along the very edges of the page, possibly caused by water damage sustained during the 1928 Tate 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-r1208929, accessed 30 April 2025.