Joseph Mallord William Turner

This carefully wrought study depicts the Palais de la Nation at Brussels, Belgium. It was constructed for the Sovereign Council of Brabant between 1779 and 1783 to the designs of French architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard.1 At the time of Turner’s visit, the building was one of the sites of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands’ Parliament. Following the Revolution of 1830, however, the palace became the home of the Belgian Parliament and remains so to this day. Turner visited Brussels on 12 August 1824, at the very beginning of his tour, and on 5 September, towards the end of it. See also: Tate D20067–D20071; Turner Bequest CCXVI 263a–265a.