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 Sky above a Beach c.1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of Sky above a Beach’ c.1818
Folio 3 Recto:
Study of Sky above a Beach c.1818
D12451
Turner Bequest CLVIII 3
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 ‘3’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 3’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This page shows various phases of cloud passing over what appears to be a sandy beach. Blank areas of white paper contrast with patches of rapidly applied blue and grey watercolour paint to evoke a sense of motion and turbulence in the cloud-filled sky.
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. On the upper left side of the sheet, it appears that this watercolour stained the verso of the preceding sheet.
Verso:
Blank

Caitlin Doley
July 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘Study of Sky 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-sky-above-a-beach-r1208875, accessed 21 November 2024.