Joseph Mallord William Turner

Arth, on the Lake of Zug. Early Morning: Sample Study

c.1842–3

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Medium
Graphite, watercolour and pen on paper
Dimensions
Support: 228 × 290 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D36129
Turner Bequest CCCLXIV 280

Display caption

Arth is situated at the southern end of the Lake of Zug in the valley between the Rigi and the Rossberg. In Turner's depiction, the only building to be clearly distinguished is the seventeenth century parish church of Sts Georg and Zeno, which rises up from the edge of the lake. In the fifth volume of 'Modern Painters', Ruskin suggested that Turner thought of this tranquil morning scene as the contrasting pair to the sunset at Goldau (no.27). The first owner of the finished version of this view was not Ruskin, but Turner's friend and sometime travelling companion, H.A.J.Munro of Novar. During the last decade of Turner's life, the two collectors often competed to acquire his best work.

Gallery label, February 1995

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

Explore

You might like

Left Right

In the shop

Browse the shop