Explorations in the footsteps of Turner, Cotman, Ruskin and others with Professor David Hill
This article identifies the exact subject of one of John Ruskin's most highly regarded Alpine watercolours. The Swiss town of Bellinzona guards the southern entrance to the Alps from Lake Maggiore, and commands the St Gotthard route from Italy to the north. In 1858 Ruskin found there one of the most important subjects of his … Continue reading In Ruskin’s Footsteps at Bellinzona
At the end of May I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Lucerne and explore in the footsteps of John Ruskin. Among the subjects that particularly interested me were three unidentified architectural drawings. On the face of it, the chances of identifying their subjects seemed remote. Two drawings record individual timbered buildings … Continue reading In Ruskin’s Footsteps: Three newly identified architectural subjects at Lucerne
This article is the third to explore Turner’s Sisteron subjects in the light of my recent visit to the site. Here I focus on a watercolour in the collection of the Museum of Rhode Island School of Design that records the view of the Pont du Buech from the west. The bridge spans the river … Continue reading Turner at Sisteron: The Pont du Buech, looking west
This article extends the exploration of Turner’s Sisteron subjects in the light of a recent visit 12-14 April. In particular I focus on a watercolour of Sisteron from the North-West that was sold at Christie’s, New York, on 5 November 2013. This was the occasion of my earlier article ‘Moonlight and its implications: Turner at … Continue reading Turner at Sisteron: Continued Observations
This article furthers the discussion begun in the article ‘Moonlight and its Implications: Turner at Sisteron’, posted on 8 November 2013. This follows a visit to the site on 12-14 April to verify the phenomenon depicted in a Turner watercolour of 'Sisteron from the North-West'. The effect in this watercolour is that of the setting … Continue reading Turner at Sisteron: Further Observations
This is the third in a series of seven articles that will catalogue an important group of drawings by John Ruskin at King’s College, Cambridge. For general notes on the collection see under article #1. 3. The Dent d'Oche range on the south side of Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland, 1846? Pencil and watercolour, on … Continue reading Ruskin drawings at King’s College, Cambridge: #3 The Dent d’Oche range on the south side of Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland
This is the first of seven articles that will catalogue an important group of drawings by John Ruskin at King’s College, Cambridge (note 1). None of the drawings has been exhibited since 1969, and some have never been reproduced. As a result they are unfamiliar to modern scholarship, let alone the general public. In a … Continue reading Ruskin drawings at King’s College, Cambridge: #1 Isolino di San Giovanni from Lago Maggiore, Evening
Regular readers (!?) may be thinking that this site is becoming overly sublunary. This is the third article to follow Turner’s footsteps into the night. I ought to confess that I do have at least one other article to write on the theme, but that may wait a little. This one, however, follows hard on … Continue reading Turner in Switzerland #3: Zurich by Moonlight
REVISED VERSION WITH NEW PHOTOS, JUNE 2014 This article seeks to give some consideration to a well-known, but relatively-little-discussed watercolour by Turner, Lucerne by Moonlight at the British Museum, London (note 1). Given that it is widely considered to be one of the most important of a great late series of Swiss subjects from the … Continue reading Turner in Switzerland #2:Lucerne by Moonlight
Sotheby’s London sale of Impressionist and Modern Art on 6 February 2014 included as lot 140 a Turner watercolour identified as 'Swiss lake scene, possibly Brienz, c.1848' (1). This article can now offer an exact identification of the subject as the Lungernsee (2) and also propose a more precise date, relating it to Turner’s last … Continue reading Turner in Switzerland #1: The Lungernsee and Brunig Pass
Sublime Sites 