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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Erotica and Improvisations c.1834-6 > Fishing at the Weir Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Tonal Preparation for a Composition c.1834-6

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Tonal Preparation for a Composition’ c.1834-6
Folio 1 Recto:
Tonal Preparation for a Composition c.1834–6
D27727
Turner Bequest CCLXXXI 1
Watercolour on white wove paper, 79 x 101 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘1’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXXI – 1’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As set out in the Introduction, numerous pages in the first third of this sketchbook have had rough watercolour washes applied, which have then been developed into compositions to varying degrees. In this case any such development is too slight to enable a figurative reading.
Technical notes:
A blank free end paper of modern white wove paper has been inserted opposite, perhaps to prevent further rubbing of the pencil work inside the front cover; it has not been accessioned.

Matthew Imms
April 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Tonal Preparation for a Composition c.1834–6’, catalogue entry, April 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/tonal-preparation-for-a-composition-r1149091, accessed 21 November 2024.