J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

This study relates to Turner’s 1836 tour of the Alps, which he made in the company of the wealthy Scottish landowner H.A.J. Munro of Novar; for more information, see the Introduction to this section.

Made on the verso of D34287 (Turner Bequest CCCXLII 83), a view of the Mer de Glace in Chamonix, the Turner scholar David Hill suggested that the present sketch shows the view towards the Mont Blanc massif from above Gex, a French town 16 kilometres from Geneva (for more information, see the entry for D40346). From there, Turner and Munro had their first glimpse of the great Alpine peaks of the Mont Blanc massif in the distance, with Lake Geneva (or Lac Leman) and Geneva itself spread out below them.1 It is difficult to identify this sketch with certainty, however, given that it is relatively slight.

Technical notes:

There are some splashes of grey watercolour a third of the way along the top edge of the sheet.