?Study for ‘The Angel Standing in the Sun’
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: c.1841–6
- Medium: Watercolour on paper
- Dimensions: support: 186 x 230 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "?Study for ‘The Angel Standing in the Sun’" by Joseph Mallord William Turner. The small watercolor, about 186 by 230 millimetres, dates from around 1841–1846 and gives us a glimpse of Turner’s early illustration work. In the early 1830s Turner was commissioned to create vignette designs for John Macrone’s 1835 edition of Milton’s *Poetical Works*. Three of these sketches were later engraved for the epic poem *Paradise Lost*—the one you’re seeing is one of those studies, though it never made it to a finished print. The subject shows a dramatic moment from Book One of *Paradise Lost*, where Satan gathers his forces over a burning lake, and the figure—an angel—stands illuminated in the sun. Turner’s loose, expressive brushwork and the bold contrasts hint at the drama of the scene, even in this modest sketch. The work entered the national collection under the Turner Bequest in 1856, ensuring that we can still admire it today. It’s a great example of how Turner’s talent extended beyond landscape into the realm of literary illustration.
See it in person
?Study for ‘The Angel Standing in the Sun’ is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
