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

This is one of twenty-eight sketches of mountain scenes (some including castles and other buildings) on the rectos and versos of sixteen pieces of grey paper torn carefully from a single sheet; they were likely all made in the vicinity of Innsbruck within a short period around 23 September 1833, when Turner was travelling back from Venice towards the end of his tour, as discussed in the Introduction to the present subsection.1

The rugged mountain valley, with trees towards the foreground, is heavily annotated with remarks on colour and light effects, two of them being numbered and keyed to points in the drawing. The highest peaks towards the right appear to be a continuation or separate detail. There is white chalk across what is likely a wide river or lake in the right foreground, and touches on the distant skyline below a small disk and a nearby stroke of white for what seems to be a waxing gibbous moon, as shown in several similar sketches; for the others and how the moon’s phase fits with the late September date, see under D33697 (CCCXLI 18v), perhaps drawn on the same occasion. Compare also the extensive notes on D33696, D33847, D33855 and D33866; CCCXLI 18, 159, 164, 170v).

The verso is D33860 (CCCXLI 166v), showing similar scenery.

Technical notes:

There is slight brown staining, and a more prominent area at the bottom right, with a steep diagonal edge. This may be damage from the 1928 Tate Gallery flood.