Joseph Mallord William Turner

Spa from the Liège Road

c.1839

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Meuse-Moselle Gouache and Watercolour Drawings
Medium: Gouache, pen and ink and watercolour on paper
Dimensions: Support: 140 × 190 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D29017
Turner Bequest CCXCII 66

Display caption

Spa, situated in a dip in the Belgian Ardennes some twenty miles south-east of Liège, is the oldest watering-place in Europe, but it has been popular also for its social attractions and the natural beauty of its situation. No.115 shows the main mineral spring in the town centre (housed in a building commemorating the visit of Peter the Great in 1717). Nos.116 and 117 show springs situated in the surrounding woods. The 'Promenade de Sept-Heures' (nos.118-119) was laid out in the eighteenth century for the diversion of Spa's aristocratic visitors who would relax here after supper. By Turner's day, the elms provided luxuriant shade and a band played nearby.

Gallery label, September 1991

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