JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER, R.A. (BRITISH 1775-1851),... Lot n° 85

JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER, R.A. (BRITISH 1775-1851) RIVER LANDSCAPE IN FRANCE Watercolour and bodycolour on grey paper13.5 x 18.5cm (5¼ x 7¼ in.)Provenance:Probably Francis Gilmore Barnett (1847-1908) (according to pencil inscription on frame) Probably Rev. Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley (1851-1920), a gift 1878 Sale, Sotheby's, London, 26 January, 1978, lot 214Sale, Christie's, London, 21 November 1978, lot 81Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd., LondonFrom a Private Collection Literature:A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J M W Turner, Fribourg, 1978, p.422, no. 1033Turner's early training in architecture and perspective appear at odds with the informal and dynamic style that he developed from the 1820s. He had initially attended lessons in perspective given by Thomas Malton Junior (1748-1804), an architectural designer and topographical artist before entering the studio of the eminent architect Thomas Hardwick (1752-1829). In 1798 he entered the Royal Academy Schools, having spent three years at Dr Thomas Monro's informal Academy, where young artists were employed in the evenings to copy works by other more established artists. However, this solid grounding was crucial in his later development, giving him the confidence to become so technically daring. During the 1820s and 30s Turner began to work in series, developing a rapid system of working simultaneously on several sheets at a time, which as they developed were either rejected or not, as the artist began to see the direction of the finished work. William Leighton Leitch (1804-1883) described the process following a visit to the artist's studio; There were four drawing-boards, each of which had a handle screwed to the back. Turner, after sketching in his subject in a fluent manner, grasped the handle and plunged the whole drawing into a pail of water by his side. Then, quickly, he washed in the principal hues that he required, flowing tint into tint, until this stage of the work was complete. Leaving the first drawing to dry, he took the second board and repeated the operation. By the time the fourth drawing was laid in, the first would be ready for the finishing touches. (J. Gage, J.M.W. Turner, A Wonderful Range of Mind, London, 1987, p. 89).As is evident in works such as the present study, Turner became increasingly interested in the effects of light and shadow on his chosen subject. In order to capture the minute changes of form and colour wrought by ever changing atmospheric effects, his style became more abstract and experimental. Colour, overall form and an emotional interpretation became increasingly important. It is often difficult to identify the subjects of many of these studies, not only because of the artist's change in style and emphasis away but also because Turner travelled constantly during the 1820s and 1830s throughout Britain and Europe. Often referred to as 'Colour Beginnings', the expression has its source in an inscription pencilled on an abandoned watercolour, Beginning for Dear Fawkes of Farnley. John Ruskin, when he sorted through the works that Turner had left to the nation on his death, had grouped almost 400 unfinished watercolours into bundles which he labelled as Colour effects or Beginnings of. As Gerald Wilkinson states however, most of [these studies] are clearly ends in themselves - though of potential use in more complex works: they are ideas, thoughts observations, experiments - and sometimes they are beginnings given up for one reason or another. (G. Wilkinson, Turner's Colour Sketches 1820-34, London, 1975, p. 150).This study is likely to depict an as yet unidentified river scene in France, although it has also been previously suggested that it could depict the Syon House from across the River Thames (Sotheby's 1978). Between 1819 and 1832, France was central to Turner's travels through Europe, indeed during this period, there are only about five years when he was not specifically visiting or travelling through the country. However, until 1826, Turner had only concentrated on the narrow area between Dieppe and Calais; the route to Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands; or the well-worn route to the Alps. In 1826, Turner decided to explore the Loire River, travelling over 1500 miles between the end of August and the end of October. Following his return, Turner published twenty-one views as illustrations to Turner's Annual Tour in 1833, which became widely regarded as being amongst the artist's most accomplished series of engravings. The initial inspiration for this trip is uncertain, but Turner had long been fascinated by rivers and the Loire was the longest river in France. Furthermore, he must have been inspired by both his own work capturing the rivers and canals of England, for the publication of the same name (published 1822-6) and the work of his contemporaries, exploring European subjects, such as J F d'Ostervald's Excursion sur les côtes et dans les ports de Normandie (1823-5), or G. Reeves' The Coasts and Ports of F