Joseph Mallord William Turner

Luxembourg City

1839

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Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Givet, Mézières, Verdun, Metz, Luxemburg and Trèves Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 101 × 168 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D28275
Turner Bequest CCLXXXVIII 61

Catalogue entry

This rough pencil sketch of Luxembourg City from the north was used by Turner to create a gouache and watercolour drawing on blue paper in the winter of 1839 (Tate D20247; Turner Bequest CCXXI N). This prospect shows the Alzette River winding through a narrow valley, flanked by precipitous cliffs. Houses can be seen at the lower reaches of the cliffs, built into the rocks at a sharp angle. A bridge is suggested in the foreground, with a small spired church to its left.

For other sketches of Luxembourg in this book see Tate D28228–D28231, D28266, D28267–D28274, D28276–D28288; Turner Bequest CCLXXXVIII 32a–34, 56a, 57–60, 61–67a. See also the earlier Rivers Meuse and Moselle sketchbook of 1824 (Tate D19712, D19714; Turner Bequest CCXVI 82, 83).

Alice Rylance-Watson
May 2013

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