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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Northern Germany, the Elbe and Prague ... > Dresden, Teplitz and Prague Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Carriage Sketches of Laun 1835

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Carriage Sketches of Laun’ 1835
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 23 Recto:
Carriage Sketches of Laun 1835
D30340
Turner Bequest CCCI 23
Pencil on cream wove paper, 159 x 100 mm
Partial Watermark ‘cf’
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘40’ centre towards rear (inverted)
Inscribed in red ink by Ruskin ‘23’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCCI – 23’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
These rough sketches show aspects of Laun, a town in Bohemia now known as Louny. Turner passed through Laun on his way to Prague from Teplitz. With the sketchbook upright the artist has dashed off a slight sketch of the bridge at Laun crossing the River Eger; the inscription ‘40’ stands for the number of arches comprising the bridge. With the book turned upside down a sketch of Laun’s St Nicholas’ Church comes into view. This medieval church is celebrated for the distinctive shapes of its spire and turrets.

Alice Rylance-Watson
September 2015

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘Carriage Sketches of Laun 1835 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2015, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-carriage-sketches-of-laun-r1186724, accessed 27 September 2024.