Joseph Mallord William Turner

This gouache shows the German town of Kobern, depicted from a southerly viewpoint, on the left bank of the Moselle. The approach to Kobern was a sight to be relished, according to the travel writer Bartholomew Strich, as it was ‘signalized by two ruined castles, that like gigantic sentinels seem to keep watch and ward over the little town’.1 These two strongholds are the Oberburg and Niederburg (the upper and lower castles), and each is shown here perched atop soaring pinnacles. In Kobern town itself, Turner pictures the Romanesque bell tower, or Glockenturm.

A spectrum of coloured gouaches is used to render this view in tones of amber, mauve, scarlet, lavender and gold. Turner applies pigment to paper using a range of techniques: in loose strokes, in fluid planes, in vigorous hatches, and in broad smudges. The result is richly chromatic and multi-tonal.
Preparatory pencil drawings of Kobern appear in the Cochem to Coblenz – Home sketchbook (Tate D28591–D28594; Turner Bequest CCXCI 28a–30).

Verso:

Stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram and ‘CCXXII–L’ bottom left; inscribed in pencil ‘CCXXII L’ bottom right and ‘26a’ centre towards top right.