Joseph Mallord William Turner

With the sketchbook turned horizontally, Turner filled this page with a view of Brienne-le-Château, situated around one hundred miles east of Paris. The Church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, with its eighteenth-century tower, dominates the scene. Napoleon studied at the military academy close by so this site was of particular interest to the artist as he sought subjects to illustrate a new edition of Walter Scott’s Life of Napoleon Buonaparte (1834–36). The town along with the church is featured in one of the volume’s engraved illustrations; see Tate impression T04969. A list of pages in the present volume featuring this subject is provided in the sketchbook Introduction.