Joseph Mallord William Turner

The town of Klotten lies on the River Moselle, surrounded by precipitous slate slopes, near the city of Cochem. Here Turner depicts it from the river, the view encompassing the medieval Burg Coraidelstein and the Parish Church of St Maximin. A sailing boat and other light craft are recorded in the foreground, a signal of life and labour in this picturesque riverside town. This pencil sketch is the basis of a gouache and watercolour drawing executed on blue paper of Klotten and the Burg Coraidelstein from the West (Tate D20237; Turner Bequest CCXXI D).

For further views of Klotten in this sketchbook see Tate D28551–D28553; Turner Bequest CCXCI 8–9; the town is also depicted in the First Mossel and Oxford sketchbook of the 1839 tour (Tate D28298, D28309, D28344; Turner Bequest CCLXXXIX 4a, 10, 27a).