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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Southern Germany, Austria and Venice ... > Salzburg and Danube Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Four Sketches of the Strudel, Looking Downstream 1833

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Four Sketches of the Strudel, Looking Downstream’ 1833
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 62 Recto:
Four Sketches of the Strudel, Looking Downstream 1833
D30252
Turner Bequest CCC 62
Pencil on off-white wove paper, 159 x 99 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Werbel’ bottom left
Remains of inscription in red ink by Ruskin ‘62’ bottom right
Inscribed in black ink over Ruskin by CF Bell ‘62’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCC–62’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
These four sketches show a stretch of the Danube known as the Strudel, near the towns of Struden and Sankt Nikola. Castle Werfenstein and the river island of Wörth are depicted in each sketch, though the crucifix mounted on top of Wörth is only visible in the two upper views. The inscription ‘Werbel’ refers to the once treacherous rapid and whirlpool called the Strudel and Wirbel located in this part of the Danube. 1
See also Tate D30249, D30251, D30253; Turner Bequest CCC 60a, 61a, 62a.
1
William Beattie, The Danube: Its History, Scenery, and Topography, Splendidly Illustrated, from Sketches Taken on the Spot by Abresch, and Drawn by W.H. Bartlett...engraved by J. Cousen, J.C. Bentley, R. Brandard, and Other Eminent Artists (London, 1844), pp.104–5; see also James Planché, Descent of the Danube: From Ratisbon to Vienna, During the Autumn of 1827. With Anecdotes and Recollections, Historical and Legendary, of the Towns, Castles, Monasteries, &c., Upon the Banks of the River, and Their Inhabitants and Proprietors, Ancient and Modern (London, 1828), pp.186–201.
Technical notes:
There is a small tear on the short edge of the folio, at top left.

Alice Rylance-Watson
July 2017

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘Four Sketches of the Strudel, Looking Downstream 1833 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, July 2017, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, March 2023, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-four-sketches-of-the-strudel-looking-downstream-r1203385, accessed 30 June 2024.