In Tate Britain
Prints and Drawings Room
View by appointment- Artist
- Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
- Medium
- Watercolour on paper
- Dimensions
- Support: 244 x 305 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
- Reference
- D36133
Turner Bequest CCCLXIV 282
Display caption
Fluelen lies at the southern end of Lake Lucerne and was an important point on the route to Italy via the St Gotthard Pass. In his watercolours of Fluelen, Turner condenses the essence of the town into its two most prominent buildings: the baroque church of Sts George and Nikolaus and the medieval keep known as Schlosschen Rudenz. Munro of Novar was the first owner of the finished watercolour based on this study, but later exchanged it for one of the Swiss subjects owned by Ruskin (see no.39). While travelling in Switzerland in 1852, Ruskin went to Fluelen to seek out Turner's viewpoint. In a letter to his father he noted that 'there is no point from which he could have got his view. He supposes himself in the air'.
Gallery label, August 2004
Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.
Explore
- architecture(41,812)
- townscapes / man-made features(21,996)
- townscape, distant(8,376)
- townscapes / man-made features(21,996)
- nature(46,200)
- places(41,793)
- cities, towns, villages (non-UK)(13,066)
- Flüelen(15)
- countries and continents(17,327)
- Switzerland(1,151)
- natural features (non-UK)(4,892)
- Lake Lucerne(105)
- cities, towns, villages (non-UK)(13,066)
You might like
Joseph Mallord William Turner Fluelen, Lake of Lucerne
after c.1830
Joseph Mallord William Turner Head of Lake of Lucerne
after c.1830