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

Here Turner shows the neighbouring towns of Wehlen, on the left, and Zeltingen on the right. Overlooking the latter of these is a large cube-like, fort-like structure, built into the rock and perched on the hillside amongst the vines. This is the medieval Kunibertsburg, a castle dating back to 1182, which once belonged to the Electorate of Cologne.1 Zeltingen’s church, marked out by its slender and tapering spire, is mirrored by Wehlen’s on the left. Both are highlighted with gleaming flecks of chalk, used also at the river’s edge to evoke the crystalline waters of the Moselle.

At top right Turner has drawn a small detail of a building, perhaps the church at either Wehlen or Zeltingen.

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