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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Lyons to Marseilles Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Ruined Castle on a Hill; a View of the Rhône Valley 1828

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Ruined Castle on a Hill; a View of the Rhône Valley’ 1828
Folio 4 Recto:
A Ruined Castle on a Hill; a View of the Rhône Valley 1828
D20996
Turner Bequest CCXXX 4
Pencil on cream lined wove paper, 145 x 111 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘[?Groncé]’ above centre right
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘4’ bottom right, and ‘4’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CCXXX 4’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner executed these three studies of the Rhône valley while travelling by boat from Lyon to Avignon. Ruined castles dominate the upper two views, although their precise location remains to be identified. The artist’s inscription to the right appears to read ‘Groncé’, perhaps a reference to the town of Grigny, south of Lyon. At the bottom is a profile of the valley from Turner’s low vantage point on the river.
Citing the present work, Cecilia Powell has commented on Turner’s fondness for castles. See under folio 3 verso (D20995) for a summary of her analysis.

Hannah Kaspar
March 2024

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘A Ruined Castle on a Hill; a View of the Rhône Valley 1828’, catalogue entry, March 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/a-ruined-castle-on-a-hill-a-view-of-the-rhone-valley-r1209657, accessed 15 April 2025.