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 broad valley includes the only overt sign of life in any of the sketches, with three small, swiftly rendered figures near the trees in the foreground, above what may be a broad river or lake, with a zig-zag of white chalk evoking reflections from what seems to be a waxing gibbous moon, as shown in several similar sketches, which also illuminates the distant peaks; 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.

Technical notes:

There is slight brown staining, and a pale, steeply diagonal line at the bottom right, apparently indicating a former crease, with a corresponding mark on the verso.

Verso:

Blank; inscribed in pencil ‘233 | O’ bottom right. There is slight brown staining in places.