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

Engraved:
By James Allen in 1834, published in 1835.

In this watercolour, Turner portrays figures on the Great Terrace at the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. The huge terrace, stretching a mile and a half in length, was built in the seventeenth century for king Louis XIV by his gardener André Le Nôtre. As depicted here by Turner, it affords views over the valley of the River Seine and western Paris.1 The river meanders below to the left, crossed by a multi-arched bridge. In the far background at right, Turner indicates the aqueduct at the nearby town of Marly. The figures in the foreground, in bright and colourful clothes, looking out at the view, suggest leisure and enjoyment, yet Turner includes one figure in contrast, covered in a black cloak and turned away in the opposite direction.

The watercolour is based on Turner’s loose pen and ink sketch of the scene (Tate D24895, Turner Bequest CCLX 59)2 and pencil sketches (Tate D24492; Turner Bequest CCLVII 166) in Turner’s Paris and Environs sketchbook from 1832.

An engraving was made of this watercolour by James Allen in 1834, as St Germains (Tate impressions T04714, T05616 and T06252) for the volume Wanderings by the Seine of 18353 (noted as ‘View from the Terrace of Saint Germain-en-Laye’ in the ‘List of Engravings’).

There are related inscriptions on the verso (D40124).