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 Gathering Rain Clouds c.1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of Gathering Rain Clouds’ c.1818
Folio 16 Recto:
Study of Gathering Rain Clouds c.1818
D12464
Turner Bequest CLVIII 16
Watercolour on white wove paper, 125 x 247 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘16’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 16’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
A variety of clouds billow over an indeterminate landscape. There is some blue sky visible but diagonal brushstrokes in the upper corners of the composition suggest that rain is beginning to fall. This study is comparable to folio 17 recto (D12465).
See the sketchbook’s Introduction for general notes on possible locations and dating.
Technical notes:
There are some stains visible across the edge of the leaf, possibly sustained in the 1928 Tate Gallery flood.
Verso:
Blank

Caitlin Doley
July 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘Study of Gathering Rain Clouds 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-gathering-rain-clouds-r1208888, accessed 21 November 2024.