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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Genoa and Florence Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sailing Vessels 1828

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sailing Vessels’ 1828
Folio 9 Recto:
Sailing Vessels near the Port of Genoa 1828
D21428
Turner Bequest CCXXXIII 9
Pencil on white lined wove paper, 96 x 144 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘3’, written twice towards top right
Inscribed in red ink ‘9’ (smudged), bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXIII – 9’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This page contains a highly schematic study of a two-masted vessel with lateen sails, possibly a schooner. Smaller vessels lie to the right, and the skyline of Genoa is faintly outlined to the left. Turner’s viewpoint appears to be from a vessel out to sea, looking north-east towards the Carignano district. The dome to the left possibly belongs to the Santa Maria Assunta, a Renaissance church on a prominent hilltop position.
In the top-right corner are indecipherable markings and the number ‘3’, written twice. Sailing vessels are a recurring feature of the present sketchbook, a reminder of Turner’s keen interest in maritime themes: see also folios 4 verso, 5 recto and verso, 10 recto, 11 recto and verso, and 12 verso (D21419–D21421, D21430, D21432–D21433, D21435).
Technical notes:
The page is divided by a conspicuous horizontal crease, possibly a manufacturing fault.

Hannah Kaspar
November 2024

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘Sailing Vessels near the Port of Genoa 1828’, catalogue entry, November 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/sailing-vessels-near-the-port-of-genoa-r1209968, accessed 15 April 2025.