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 Three Studies of La Voulte-sur-Rhône 1828

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Three Studies of La Voulte-sur-Rhône’ 1828
Folio 15 Recto:
Three Studies of La Voulte-sur-Rhône 1828
D21018
Turner Bequest CCXXX 15
Pencil on cream lined wove paper, 145 x 111 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘[La ?Viorle Veute]’, below centre
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘15’ bottom left, upside down, and ‘4’ top left, upside down
Stamped in black ‘CCXXX 15’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As proposed in Finberg’s 1909 Inventory of the Bequest, Turner’s central inscription likely refers to La Voulte-sur-Rhône, located on the right bank of the river.1 Turner encountered this town as he continued his two-day boat journey south from Lyon to Avignon. The upper view frames the town’s ruined castle from a south-facing perspective, encompassing the valley slopes. The variant view beneath offers a more precise architectural rendering of the castle. Both studies are inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation. The rough markings at the bottom of the page appear to be architectural details, and were executed with the sketchbook turned upright.
If correctly identified as La Voulte-sur-Rhône, these studies would fall outside the geographical itinerary embodied by the sketchbook. Further studies of the town appear on folios 19 verso, 21 recto and 26 verso (D21027, D21030, D21041).
1
Finberg 1909, II, p.705.
Technical notes:
A tear lower down on the left side of the page has been repaired.

Hannah Kaspar
March 2024

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘Three Studies of La Voulte-sur-Rhône 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/three-studies-of-la-voulte-sur-rhone-r1209677, accessed 15 April 2025.