Yale Center for British Art

Creator:
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, British

after sketch by William Page, 1794–1872
Title:
Rhodes
Date:
between 1823 and 1824
Materials & Techniques:
Watercolor, gouache, and scraping out on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 5 1/4 x 8 7/8in. (13.3 x 22.5cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed in graphite, verso, lower right: "J. TURNER : RHODOS"
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.153
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
sea | architectural subject | city | tower (building division) | marine art | boats | oars | sailboats | cityscape
Associated Places:
Dodecanese | Aegean Sea | Naillac Tower | Rdos, Nísos | Rhodes | Nísoi Aiyaíou | Greece | Europe
Currently On View:
Not on view
Exhibition History:
J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27)

Translations - Turner and Printmaking (Yale Center for British Art, 1993-09-29 - 1993-12-05)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1985-04 - 1986-08)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Memorial Art Gallery of Rochester, 1985-04 - 1986-08)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1985-04 - 1986-08)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Portland Art Museum, 1985-04 - 1986-08)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Toledo Museum of Art, 1985-04 - 1986-08)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Block Museum of Art, 1985-04 - 1986-08)

British Watercolors - Drawings of the 18th and 19th Centuries from the Yale Center for British Art (Blaffer Gallery, University of Houston, 1985-04 - 1986-08)
Publications:
Eric M. Lee, Translations : Turner and printmaking, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1993, p. 37, no. 142, NJ18 .T85 L44 1993 (YCBA)

Ian Warrell, Turner, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 2025, pp. 24, 88, 94, pl. 56, NJ18 .T85 W37 2025 (YCBA)

Scott Wilcox, British watercolors : drawings of the 18th and 19th centuries from the Yale Center for British Art, , Hudson Hill Press, New York, 1985, no. 44, pl. 44, ND1928 W533 1985 (YCBA)

Andrew Wilton, J. M. W. Turner : his art and life, , Rizzoli, New York, 1979, pp.444-445, NJ18 T85 W577 1979 + OVERSIZE (YCBA)

Andrew Wilton, The life and work of J.M.W. Turner, Academy Editions, London, 1979, pp. 170, 445, no. 1215, pl. 185, NJ18 T85 +W577 OVERSIZE (YCBA)
Gallery Label:
Book illustration was another prolific strand of Turner’s practice. During the 1830s, he was especially active creating illustrations for the works of a number of celebrated authors, including Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron. This view of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes was commissioned to illustrate a popular edition of Byron’s Life and Works (1832–34). It typifies the small-scale images the artist produced to meet the needs of this market. As with his earlier Vesuvius, Turner had never visited the scene, instead relying on a sketch by another artist. In spite of this, his powerful imaginative and technical abilities endowed this work with a vividness of coloring and strength of form that are difficult to reconcile with its derivative nature. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:5478