Château de Blois, Loire Valley

Turner was already familiar with the general view of Blois from the west, having made a copy of another artist's design while still an adolescent (no.2). The view he produced many years later for his set of Loire scenes repeats this prospect of the town, adding the atmospheric detail of the rising harvest moon over the Loire. His other views were more firmly rooted in his own experience of the town, particularly his powerful studies of the Renaissance facade of the chateau, which hangs over the gardens below looking like a heavy ornamented jewel box.

Gallery label, August 2004

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