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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > First Italian Tour 1819-20 > Passage of the Simplon Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner View of a Mountain Valley, near the Simplon Pass 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of a Mountain Valley, near the Simplon Pass’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 7 Recto:
View of a Mountain Valley, near the Simplon Pass 1819
D16902
Turner Bequest CXCIV 7
Pencil and grey watercolour wash on white wove paper, 121 x 195 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil with various notes on colour and tone including ‘Light’ and ‘Water’ near left-hand edge of sketch, and ‘Road’ bottom left
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘7’, bottom left, descending left-hand edge
Stamped in black ‘CXCIV 7’ bottom left, descending left-hand edge
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This view of a valley amidst mountains documents part of Turner’s expedition into the Swiss Alps as far as the Simplon Pass. Owing to the dark surface of the grey watercolour wash, the drawn pencil details are difficult to decipher. However, it is possible to make out the craggy forms of the mountain slopes and some annotations by the artist noting the position of the road and other scenic features.
For a general discussion of Turner’s expedition to the Simplon Pass see the introduction to the sketchbook.

Nicola Moorby
April 2011

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘View of a Mountain Valley, near the Simplon Pass 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2011, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-view-of-a-mountain-valley-near-the-simplon-pass-r1132777, accessed 24 April 2024.