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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Louvre Sketchbook - Woman with a Mirror by Titian 1802 watercolor Tate Gallery |
"This famous and tantalising picture, an early work by Titian, was in the Gonzaga collection in Mantua and that of Charles I, and possibly also that of the painter Anthony van Dyck, in London. It was bought by Louis XIV in 1662. Among the Louvre's collections it was almost as legendary as the Concert Champêtre [directly below]. Possibly depicting a courtesan with her lover, its strongest appeal to the Romantic mind was as a portrait. In Turner's day it was thought to depict Titian himself with his mistress, and it has since been associated with Alfonso d'Este of Ferrara and Laura de'Dianti, or more recently with Federico Gonzaga and Isabella Boschetti. However, such identifications add little to a work likely to be an allegory of love and the transience of beauty. Turner's written comments follow, transcribed from his sketchbook – 'Titian and his Mistress. A wonderful specimen of his abilities as to natural color, for the Bosom of his Mistress is a piece of Nature in her happiest moments. The Arm, beauty fully colour'd but rather heavy, and the Shadow perhaps too Brown for the shadow of the Neck which appears to have been produced by a body of grey colour over a rich ground of the colours of the face, strengthening in the lights which are truly brilliant. The green drapery is glazed over a similar color but the light really white as they are cold (unlike the drapery of Joseph in the entombing of Jesus which has been rather yellow'd first). The ground pervades thro this Portrait and the red under is Venetian and VR or Lake, over his hands are Bt Sienna but her left hand is granulated with minute colours and toucht with brown and is dependt upon the ground as the other parts of the picture, which proves as well as the Hair over the white drapery that he had some means of using the ground colour as a Body or uniting solid coloring with the ground, although I must confess I think it taken off practically which gives the hand so granite an appearance. The white drapery is like this leaf but colder than the high light, a warm colour finely touch'd."
Tuner was 27 and seizing a rare opportunity to visit Paris (in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars) when he made the first half-dozen sketches and notations reproduced here.
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Louvre Sketchbook - Concert Champêtre by Titian or Giorgione 1802 watercolor Tate Gallery |
"The Louvre's famous and mysterious allegory of music and love, a masterpiece of the Venetian tradition of figures in a landscape, was supposed to have belonged to the Gonzaga in Mantua and then to Charles I in London, before being certainly acquired by Louis XIV. It was long ascribed to Titian, then to Giorgione, leaving the possibility that the copy after that painter listed in the inventory of contents then in Turner's house but now untraced was of this subject. Turner's comments – 'A Pastoral Subject by Titian. Not so fortunate as to the costume as in other pictures as there are Spanish figures with two naked females, one of which is charmingly colour'd and graceful, getting water, with a lilac robe falling to the knees. It is a little Brown in the shadow compared with the Mistress [Titian's Woman with a Mirror, at top], but the management of the whole is like . . ."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Louvre Sketchbook - Mars and Venus by Guercino 1802 watercolor Tate Gallery |
"Guercino's picture – attributed to Domenichino by Turner in his commentary – had been taken [by Napoleonic troops] from the collection of the ducal Este family in Modena in 1796. It was returned in 1815. Turner comments – 'Mars and Venus. Domenino. This is a good specimen of his high color'd pictures but is not a good composition as it is destitute of Grace in Venus and dignity in Mars. The Cupid is trifling with a bow although the idea is pretty, the light is well managed tho' the shadow on Cupid's shoulder for the head of Venus is too small and the piece of white at the Right of the Picture looks like Marble, but White is highly useful for it, gives the flesh a colour by its own chalkiness upon a rich dark ground. Venus – the 1/2 shadow cold yet inclining to green produced by the first cold V over the ground, the vermillion or VR over which is rather feeble. This Brown over V in Shadow. The light with W Yellow perhaps too chalky, to check which I take the piece of White to be introduced, altho' ineffectual owing to its position. The yellow drapery is produced by R over yellow over the ground and glazed by Brown, the Red the same. The leaden colour'd drapery is unfortunate as to tone and place, as it contributes to make the flesh too green."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Louvre Sketchbook - Virgin and Child by Guercino 1802 watercolor Tate Gallery |
"This has been among the most tantalising of Turner's copies in this sketchbook. It has often been supposed to record a work by Titian, but no such source was found. In fact it is after a picture by Guercino, signed and dated 1620, taken by the French from the Capuchin church in Cento in 1796 and returned in 1816. Tuner comments – 'The Virgin and Child. Here the characters are poor, the Child assuming a graven air by the turn of the Head and raising of the fingers, but without grace or meekness or sensibility; The mother is rather inanimate and listless, and attempts at attention and adoration of his supposed sagacity. The tone of this is rich and flesh produced by less of the U in the half-tone of the flesh and depending more upon the ground. The reflection warmer and the glazing Brown to right more over the whole, but the ground is much warmer than the foregoing picture."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Louvre Sketchbook - Christ Crowned with Thorns by Titian 1802 watercolor Tate Gallery |
"Titian's picture was painted for the church of Sta. Maria delle Grazie in Milan, 1540-42. Turner's comments – 'This Picture is wholly different, as to effect the most powerful is the flesh, the drapery answers only to extend the light upon the soldier to the right, and by being yellow keep up warmth and mellow the flesh of Christ which is the soul of the piece, shrinking under the force of the Brutal Soldier with filial resignation. Yet with dignity he appears to bear their insults while the position of the legs indicate excessive pain and exertion to sustain it. This on a greeny Brown Ground, Spanish Brown and Umber. The flesh is thicker than the Entombment but the same process. The Crimson drapery is only a wash (VR) – the green D is thicker but Brown on it and the figure in Mail in Black with lights. This figure keeps the Picture from being monotonously Brown in the Background which is the Broadest Shadow, thus is form'd the effect, as the other figs. have scatter'd lights and strong shadows. The small piece of yellow causes with the legs of Christ a preponderance of Light to the left and the steps and the half light, the small piece of Blue is admitted partly to give value to the warm colour by contrast and to check the Brown background by putting it so far behind or rather protrude itself. "
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Louvre Sketchbook - Entombment by Titian 1802 watercolor Tate Gallery |
"Titian's picture had belonged to the Gonzaga in Mantua and then to Charles I in London. It was acquired by Louis XIV in 1662 and regarded as one of the greatest treasures of the Louvre. Turner's comments – 'This may be rank among the first of Titian's pictures as to colour and pathos of effect, for by casting a brilliant light on the Holy Mother and Martha, the figures of Joseph and the Body has the effect of Sepuchural. The expression of Joseph is fine as to the care he is undertaking but without grandeur. The figure which is cloathed in striped drapery conveys the idea of silent distress, the one in vermillion attention, while the agony of Mary and the solicitude of Martha to prevent her grief and view of the dead Body with her own anguish by seeing are admirably described and on the first View they appear but collateral figures yet the whole is dependant upon them, they are the breadth of and the expression of the Picture. Mary is in Blue, which partakes of a common tone and by it unites with the Blue of Sky. Martha is in striped Yellow and some streaks of Red which thus united with the warm streak of light in the sky. Thus the Breadth is made by the 3 primitive colors breaking into each other, and are connected by the figure in vermillion to the one in crimson'd striped drapery which balances all the breadth of the left of the picture by its Brilliancy. Thus the Body of Jesus has the look of death without the affected leaden colour often resorted unto, and the whole of the half tints resemble the colour of the Robe, the lights warmer more of oker. The drapery of the Body is the highest light or more properly the first that strikes the Eye. Of great use it is, gives color to the dead Body and Breadth to the center, for Joseph being draped in dark red and green cuts off all connection with the former Breadth of Mary & Martha. This brilliancy and contrast of effect are produced on the left, the shadow is balanced by the broad one upon the Head and part of the Body of Jesus, whose countenance is meek but the shadow obliterates any other ideas and is rather overcharged, for Titian could have balanced Joseph's shadow by other means, viz the rock above the striped figure, for it is so sombre that Mary & Martha tell it must be Jesus and thus hold the very sentiment, and where the Eye returns to with sympathy and satisfaction Titian is obscuring the principal figure – The flesh is thinly painted, first by a cold color over a Brown ground so that it is neither purple or green, some red is used in the extremities, and the lights are warm. If he wanted to color them higher by a glaze thus his brown figures lose in a great measure the grey color which in part is produced by the ground. All the draperys are strongly painted with cold or warm lights and glazed over. The greens are particularly glutinous and the vermillion he sparingly used as it appears heavy unglazed by Lake."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Pilate washing his hands ca. 1830 oil on canvas Tate Gallery |
"Turner exhibited this picture at the Royal Academy in 1830, with a quotation from St. Matthew xxvii, 24 – Pilate 'washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person.' This is one of several paintings from the 1830s in which Turner explored aspects of Rembrandt's colouring and biblical subject matter. However, he may also have been motivated by David Wilkie's pictures in the style of Rembrandt. In particular, Turner had seen Wilkie's oil sketch of Knox preaching in Lord Egremont's collection at Petworth."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Two women with a letter ca. 1830 oil on canvas Tate Gallery |
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Venus and the dead Adonis ca. 1805 oil on canvas Tate Gallery |
"This picture was given its title after Turner's death. The pose of the Venus recalls the work of the great Venetian painter Titian, whose pictures Turner studied closely in the early 1800s. Apart from the bearing this fact has on our view of how Turner's style developed, it is also an apt reminder of how Renaissance artists, Titian especially, explored the classical world and reinvigorated, on canvas, the ancient stories."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Two recumbent nude figures 1828 oil on canvas Tate Gallery |
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Reclining Nude draped with a red cloth 1821 watercolor Tate Gallery |
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Curtained bed with man and woman embracing ca. 1834-36 watercolor Tate Gallery |
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner Figures in a building ca. 1830-35 oil on canvas Tate Gallery |
"Besides Rembrandt, Turner's later paintings of figure subjects were influenced by more recent artists, such as R.P. Bonington and C.R. Leslie, who painted historical scenes in interiors; he was also influenced by the current fashion for illustration of such subjects in popular magazines. This is one of several works where Turner seems to be developing a historical subject without any very clear direction, as if hoping a theme might occur as he moved his paints around on the canvas. The stone vault resembles a dungeon and the figures are in period costume. The subject is painted over an earlier landscape."
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| Joseph Mallord William Turner George IV at the Provost's Banquet in the Parliament House, Edinburgh ca. 1822 oil on panel Tate Gallery |
"Parliament Hall, part of Edinburgh's old Parliament House, was used by the independent Scottish government until 1707. Beneath its dramatic hammer-beam roof, the king was offered a silver basin of rose-water during a banquet for three hundred. Sir Walter Scott's son and nephew attended the bearer, while Yeomen of the Guard stood by. For Turner, sometimes criticised for his figure painting, to commence such a complex group portrait was hugely ambitious. The unfinished panel remains instead a hazy impression in crimson, white and gold."
– quoted passages from curator's notes at the Tate Gallery, London