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 Rain Clouds above a Beach c.1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of Rain Clouds above a Beach’ c.1818
Folio 4 Recto:
Study of Rain Clouds above a Beach c.1818
D12452
Turner Bequest CLVIII 4
Watercolour on white wove paper, 125 x 247 mm
Watermark ‘J Whatman | 1814’
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘4’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 4’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This page shows turbulent grey clouds billowing above a sandy beach. The vertical grey strokes visible from the upper left of the composition across to its centre presumably indicate falling rain. The comparably solid arcs of grey paint featured across the lower half of the composition could perhaps be waves crashing against the shore.
See the sketchbook’s Introduction for general notes on possible locations and dating.
Technical notes:
Irregular staining is evident along the right-hand edges of the leaf, possibly sustained in the 1928 Tate Gallery flood.
Verso:
Blank

Caitlin Doley
July 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘Study of Rain Clouds above a Beach 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-rain-clouds-above-a-beach-r1208876, accessed 22 November 2024.