This work has been executed using watercolour and gouache on a mid-brown wove paper with no watermark.
The sheet has suffered water damage at some point, possibly during the 1928 flood which immersed the lower galleries of the Tate in between five and eight feet of water and damaged much of the collection; this has resulted in some mould growth on the surface of the sheet.
This work was swiftly painted; this is particularly evident in the brush-strokes in the foreground. The colours are still vibrant despite the water damage and gouache has been used to great effect to create an imposing and dramatic sky.
How to cite
Helen Evans, 'Technique and Condition', July 2009, in John Chu, ‘Coastal Terrain c.1830–45 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 2015, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2023, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-coastal-terrain-r1205929, accessed 21 November 2024.