Graphite, watercolour and gouache on paper
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on loan
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Turner Bequest
Collection
Turner owned by Tate
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-mallord-william-turner-558" aria-label="More by Joseph Mallord William Turner" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Joseph Mallord William Turner</a>
Moonlight over Sea
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
astronomy
coast
moonlight
night
sea
seascapes and coasts
times of the day
<p>Turner may have painted these sea studies on one of his many visits to the coast in the 1830s. He would have carried large sheets of blue paper with him on his travels. These could be folded and torn into a number of smaller sheets.</p><p>Over the course of his career Turner experimented with many different coloured papers. He particularly liked the variety of effects he could achieve with watercolour and gouache applied onto a blue ground. The darker surface allowed him to use white highlights to great effect when painting foaming waves or the reflection of moonlight.</p><p><em>Gallery label, April 2005</em></p>
paper unique graphite watercolour gouache
23 March 2005 – 16 October 2005
2005-10-16
23 March 2005 – 16 October 2005
2005-10-16
2005-03-23
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
Tate Liverpool (Liverpool, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
2005-03-23
Turner and the Sea
Collection based display
6 July 2024 – 15 January 2028
2028-01-15
6 July 2024 – 1 September 2024
2024-09-01
2024-07-06
Grimaldi Forum (Monaco, Monaco)
30 September 2024 – 7 May 2025
2025-05-07
2024-09-30
Museum of Art Pudong (Shanghai, China)
21 June 2025 – 5 October 2025
2025-10-05
2025-06-21
Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Australia)
2024-07-06
Turner's Sublime Legacy
Tate partnerships & programmes
Moonlight over the Sea
support: 144 × 194 mm
Accepted by the nation as part of the <a href="/search?gid=999999781" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Turner Bequest</a> 1856
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<span class="text0">Turner may have painted these sea studies on one of his      many visits to the coast in the 1830s. He would have carried large sheets      of blue paper with him on his travels. These could be folded and torn into      a number of smaller sheets. </span>
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<div class="para6">
<span class="text0">
<br/> </span>
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<div class="pbodytext">
<span class="text0">Over the course of his career Turner experimented with      many different coloured papers. He particularly liked the variety of      effects he could achieve with watercolour and gouache applied onto a blue      ground. The darker surface allowed him to use white highlights to great      effect when painting foaming waves or the reflection of moonlight. </span>
</div>

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2005-04-14T00:00:00
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astronomy coast moonlight night sea seascapes and coasts times of the day
CCLIX 22