Joseph Mallord William Turner

The drawing was made with the page turned horizontally. As identified by Cecilia Powell,1 it shows the ruins of Burg Fürstenberg, with its cylindrical tower, high above Rheindiebach, on the west bank of the River Rhine; there is a separate sketch of the castle from further downstream, at the top right.

Powell has noted that Turner neared the end of this tour following ‘the familiar route of the Rhine between Mainz and Cologne. He almost certainly travelled by steamer, ... sketching most of the well-known sights perfunctorily as he passed.’2 Given that this sketchbook was used in reverse of its subsequent foliation, she has specified the overall range of this phase as ‘TB CCCIII 68v–20v; 11r’,3 indicating folios 12 recto and 21 verso–69 verso (D30479, D30497–D30592; Turner Bequest CCCIII 20a–68a); see this book’s Introduction for the full itinerary of this part of the journey.

Burg Fürstenberg is also shown on folio 59 recto (D30572; CCCIII 58), under which other drawings are noted. For other Rheindiebach views, see the 1817 Waterloo and Rhine and Rhine sketchbooks (respectively Tate D12825; Turner Bequest CLX 64; D12940; CLXI 31a), and the 1833 Brussels up to Mannheim – Rhine sketchbook (D29729; CCXCVI 68a).