Joseph Mallord William Turner

Pallien and the Napoleonsbrücke from the River Bank at Trier, Looking up the Moselle

1824

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Trèves and Rhine Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 220 x 291 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D20145
Turner Bequest CCXVIII 7

Catalogue entry

The village of Pallien, seen here at right, is ‘nestled most picturesquely’, Bartholomew Stritch writes, ‘at the foot of an enormous rock at the entrance of a deep valley’.1 A trip across the Moselle to Pallien was a detour recommended by almost all contemporary guidebooks, affording visitors an excellent vantage point from which to view, and Turner to sketch, the city of Trier. The beauty of Pallien also clearly merited recording, as it is shown here in delicate pencil line and fine chalk highlights.
A bridge at the river’s edge is seen reflected in the waters, and directly above it, just to the right of the Church of Saints Simon and Jude straddling two cliffs, is another bridge, the Napoleonsbrücke. Constructed by the French Emperor to link Trier to Aachen, the bridge is seen more clearly in Tate D20146; Turner Bequest CCXVIII 8 and in a gouache and watercolour drawing of 1839 (Tate D24741; Turner Bequest CCLIX 176). The Church of Saints Simon and Jude, noted for its striking onion cupola, is shown at a closer proximity in the 1824 Rivers Meuse and Moselle sketchbook (Tate D19727, D19730; Turner Bequest CCXVI 89a, 91). These views are similar to a lithograph by J.A. Ramboux (1790–1866), depicting the church and valley from the Napoleonsbrücke (Art Institute Chicago, Illinois).2
1
Bartholomew Stritch, The Meuse, the Moselle, and the Rhine; or, A six weeks' tour through the finest river scenery in Europe, by B.S., London 1845, p.46.
2
Johann Anton Albon Ramboux, View of the Mosel Valley below Trier with the Rocks of Pallien in the Foreground, 1824/27, http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/159356
Verso:
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Alice Rylance-Watson
December 2013

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Left Right
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from the West, Looking up the Moselle’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from the West, Looking up the Moselle

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance and the Napoleonsbrücke on the Right’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance and the Napoleonsbrücke on the Right

1824
View by appointment
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle with the Roman Bridge in the Distance

1824
View by appointment
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier, Pallien and the Napoleonsbrücke from the River Bank to the North-West, Looking up the Mosel’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier, Pallien and the Napoleonsbrücke from the River Bank to the North-West, Looking up the Mosel

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from the North-West, Looking up the Moselle to the Bridge; Trier from the West, Looking down the Moselle towards the Cliffs at Pallien’ 1839

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from the North-West, Looking up the Moselle to the Bridge; Trier from the West, Looking down the Moselle towards the Cliffs at Pallien

1839
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle to the Bridge in the Distance’ 1839

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from Pallien, Looking up the Moselle to the Bridge in the Distance

1839
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Confluence at Coblenz, Looking up the Moselle from Ehrenbreitstein; Ehrenbreitstein’ 1839

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Confluence at Coblenz, Looking up the Moselle from Ehrenbreitstein; Ehrenbreitstein

1839
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View from the Heights above Pallien, Looking down the Moselle and down on the White House and the Northern Edge of Trier’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner View from the Heights above Pallien, Looking down the Moselle and down on the White House and the Northern Edge of Trier

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from Pallien Looking up the Moselle to the Roman Bridge’ 1839

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from Pallien Looking up the Moselle to the Roman Bridge

1839
View by appointment
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Dinant, Looking Downstream from the West Bank: Dinant, Looking Downstream from the East Bank by the Town Hall; View down the Moselle towards the Roman Bridge at Trier with the City on the Right and Details of its Spires Repeated Above’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Dinant, Looking Downstream from the West Bank: Dinant, Looking Downstream from the East Bank by the Town Hall; View down the Moselle towards the Roman Bridge at Trier with the City on the Right and Details of its Spires Repeated Above

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Moselle from the Hillside at Pallien, Looking Upstream with the Roman Bridge in the Distance and Trier Hidden behind the Trees on the Left’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Moselle from the Hillside at Pallien, Looking Upstream with the Roman Bridge in the Distance and Trier Hidden behind the Trees on the Left

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier, Looking down the Moselle towards the Roman Bridge from the West Bank’ 1824

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier, Looking down the Moselle towards the Roman Bridge from the West Bank

1824
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Trier from across the Moselle near the White House; The River, Walls and Towers of Trier with its Crane and Bridge, Looking up the Moselle; Trier’ 1839

Joseph Mallord William Turner Trier from across the Moselle near the White House; The River, Walls and Towers of Trier with its Crane and Bridge, Looking up the Moselle; Trier

1839
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