The principal view is of Copenhagen, taken from window or balcony on the upper storey of the Hôtel d’Angleterre, a renowned hotel on Kongens Nytorv (‘The King’s New Square’). Turner is thought to have stayed here during his stay in the city.
1 At the heart of Kongens Nytorv is the gilded equestrian statue of king Christian V. In the sky towards top right Turner has recorded the profile of the Gjethuset (Copenhagen’s artillery foundry) and the King’s Theatre, founded in 1748.
2 The numbers ‘6’, ‘3’ and ‘6’ are inscribed on the Gjethuset to represent the bays of the building.
Orientated inversely to the prospect of Kongens Nytorv is a sketch of a group of figures recorded in Hamburg. Turner has annotated the figures with colour notes.
For other drawings of Copenhagen see Tate
D30824–D30829,
D30832–D30833,
D30859,
D30861,
D30873,
D30881,
D30883,
D30887; Turner Bequest CCCV 2–5, 6a–7, 20, 21, 27, 31, 32, 34.
Alice Rylance-Watson
April 2015
