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

Turner composed these two views of the Rhône valley as he continued his two-day boat journey from Lyon to Avignon. He oriented the sketchbook horizontally to achieve a more panoramic effect. The dominant and more detailed vista spans the lower half of the page. Capturing the artist’s low, south-facing perspective, it surveys the ruins of the thirteenth-century Château de la Bâtie to the left and the church of St Romain-en-Gal in the centre.1 In the background is Vienne, a town Turner studied at closer proximity on folios 6 recto–7 verso (D21000–D21003).

In the upper section is a more schematic profile of the valley, which terminates to the right with craggy hilltop ruins. The geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot has identified this building as the Château de Seyssuel, a subject also featured on folios 4 verso and the recto of this page (D20997–D20998).2

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.