Joseph Mallord William Turner

The drawing was made with the page turned horizontally. As identified by Cecilia Powell,1 it shows Rhens, on the west bank of the Rhine, looking north-west downriver towards Schloss Stolzenfels. At the top right is a detail of riverfront buildings, centred on the cylindrical Scharfenturm tower.

Powell has noted that Turner neared the end of this tour following ‘the familiar route of the Rhine between Mainz and Cologne. He almost certainly travelled by steamer, ... sketching most of the well-known sights perfunctorily as he passed.’2 Given that this sketchbook was used in reverse of its subsequent foliation, she has specified the overall range of this phase as ‘TB CCCIII 68v–20v; 11r’,3 indicating folios 12 recto and 21 verso–69 verso (D30479, D30497–D30592; Turner Bequest CCCIII 20a–68a); see this book’s Introduction for the full itinerary of this part of the journey.

For other Rhens views, see the 1817 Rhine sketchbook (Tate D12975–D12978; Turner Bequest CLXI 49a–51), the 1833 Brussels up to Mannheim – Rhine sketchbook (D29652, D29703–D29704; CCXCVI 28a, 55a, 56), the 1839 Trèves to Cochem and Coblenz to Mayence sketchbook (D28523; CCXC 84a), and the 1844 Ostend, Rhine and Berne sketchbook (D33068; CCCXXVII 16a). Schloss Stolzenfels is also shown on folio 39 recto (D30532; CCCIII 38), under which drawings elsewhere are noted.