Joseph Mallord William Turner

A Ravine in the Pass of St Gotthard

1802

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On loan

Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Québec, Canada): The Sea and the Alps: Turner's Quest for the Sublime

Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
St Gothard and Mont Blanc Sketchbook
Medium
Gouache, graphite and watercolour on paper
Dimensions
Support: 318 × 475 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D04627
Turner Bequest LXXV 35

Display caption

Turner made many dozens of sketches
of the dramatic and sometimes hostile Alpine scenery during his 1802 tour of Switzerland. This view of a deep gorge, one side drenched in sunlight and the other plunged into darkness, was made on grey tinted paper.

 

The initial pencil work, visible underneath the layers of paint, is vigorous, almost violent. Vivid layers of gouache have been used to convey the density and wildness of the mountainous landscape. Turner
has created highlights by physically scratching through the pigment to
the white paper below.

 

Gallery label, September 2004

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