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

This sketch depicts Mâcon, a city on the River Saône approximately forty-five miles north of Lyon. Turner’s viewpoint is from the village of Saint Laurent-sur-Saône on the opposite side of the river. On the right-hand side is the historic Pont de Saint-Laurent (Bridge of St Lawrence) and the artist has continued the drawing of the end of the bridge in the top right-hand corner. The vista looks up west towards the houses lining the quayside at the centre of Mâcon. Sketches like this one, and a related study of the eastern end of the bridge on folio 29 (D14034), suggest that Turner must have disembarked from the boat in which he was travelling, for a short time at least.

For further studies of Mâcon see folio 27 (D14030).