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

This sketch depicts a view within the Swiss Alps near the Simplon Pass, although the precise location is impossible to identify. The details of the pencil drawing are difficult to make out against the background of the grey watercolour wash. However, there is a clearly discernible figure in the bottom left-hand corner, and the artist has employed some scratching-out to create passages of tonal contrast defining the silhouette of the mountains.

For a general discussion of Turner’s expedition to the Simplon Pass see the introduction to the sketchbook.