Explorations in the footsteps of Turner, Cotman, Ruskin and others with Professor David Hill
On 10 July 2014 Christie’s in London will sell a Turner watercolour of Binger Loch and Mausethurm (lot 214, estimate £200,000 – 300,000). This is one of a series of fifty-one* watercolours that Turner made in 1817 when he made a tour of the river Rhine between Cologne and Mainz. On Turner’s return the whole … Continue reading Turner on the Rhine: Binger Loch and Mausethurm
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
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
On 5 November 2013 a Turner watercolour of Sisteron sold for $149,000 at Christie’s in New York. It was catalogued as Sisteron from the North-West, with a Low Sun. The viewpoint is perfectly identified and the low sun seems self-evident (follow the link below to Christie’s website for a fully zoomable image), but I want … Continue reading Moonlight and its implications: Turner at Sisteron
Sublime Sites 