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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > Royal Academy c.1789-99 > Figure Studies > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sheet of Studies: The Head of a Youth; a Pair of Hands c.1793-4

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sheet of Studies: The Head of a Youth; a Pair of Hands’ c.1793-4
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Sheet of Studies: The Head of a Youth; a Pair of Hands c.1793–4
D00723
Turner Bequest XXIX R
Pencil and red chalk on white wove paper, 345 x 274 mm
Stamped in black ‘XXIX R’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The study on this sheet of the head of a youth seen three-quarters from behind was possibly made during one of the Academy’s Life Classes; as perhaps was the study of two hands, which might however have been copied from a print. It seems likely that this study records a fellow student at the Academy Schools, observed while drawing from the nude model. The hands may be those of the model.
Technical notes:
The paper, unusual for Turner, is however consistent with the papers he used for drawing in the Schools.
Verso:
Blank; inscribed in red chalk ‘15’; stamped with Turner Bequest monogram.

Andrew Wilton
April 2012

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘Sheet of Studies: The Head of a Youth; a Pair of Hands c.1793–4 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2012, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-sheet-of-studies-the-head-of-a-youth-a-pair-of-hands-r1140204, accessed 17 July 2024.