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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1787-1801 Student and master > History Painting c.1799-1807 > Studies for Pictures Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Two Kneeling Figures; Two Figures Registering Astonishment or Awe c.1799-1802

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Two Kneeling Figures; Two Figures Registering Astonishment or Awe’ c.1799-1802
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 20 Recto:
Two Kneeling Figures; Two Figures Registering Astonishment or Awe c.1799–1802
D04014
Turner Bequest LXIX 20
Pencil, ink and white chalk on blue laid paper, 210 x 135 mm
Watermark: Strasburg lily (trimmed)
Inscribed by Turner in ink ‘Baal Pict’ centre right against upper group
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘20’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘LXIX-20’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Several ideas for Biblical subject pictures are mulled over in this book, including scenes from the story of the Plagues of Egypt (Exodus), which resulted in two finished pictures: The Fifth Plague of Egypt, shown at the Royal Academy in 1800 (Indianapolis Museum of Art)1, and The Tenth Plague of Egypt, 1802 (Tate N00470).2 This page offers evidence that Turner also had in mind at the time a subject from 1 Kings 18, in which the prophet Elijah proves to the priests of Baal that the God of the Jews is the only true God, bringing rain after a severe drought. The fainting figure on the next page, folio 21 recto (D04015), may be intended to be a victim of the drought. Other drawings possibly for the Baal subject are on folios 22 recto and 23 recto (D04016, D04017).
1
Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984, pp.10–12 no.13, pl.10 (colour).
2
Ibid., pp.16–17 no.17, pl.13 (colour).
Verso:
Blank

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

How to cite

Andrew Wilton, ‘Two Kneeling Figures; Two Figures Registering Astonishment or Awe c.1799–1802 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, April 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-two-kneeling-figures-two-figures-registering-astonishment-or-r1177892, accessed 17 July 2024.