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

This colour study probably relates to Turner’s 1836 tour of the Alps, which he made in the company of the wealthy Scottish landowner, H.A.J. Munro of Novar; for more information about the tour, see the Introduction to this section.

The view has not been identified with certainty, but probably shows a group of peaks in the Mont Blanc massif, including the Aiguille Verte, from a viewpoint above Chamonix and below the Grand Balcon Sud. This would fit with other works catalogued in this section possibly showing the same mountaintops from different viewpoints, for example, D25439 (Turner Bequest CCLXIII 316). However, the scene also bears some resemblance to a pencil drawing showing the Aiguille de Varan from nearby St Martin’s Bridge, also made during the 1836 tour (Tate D29086; Turner Bequest CCXCIII 28).

Turner chose a limited colour palette for this study, and his watercolour technique was very free and sketchy; he employed a dry brush technique for the brownish-red marks in the lower right.

Verso:

The sheet has been laid down on a heavier sheet of paper and the verso could not be checked at the time of cataloguing.