Joseph Mallord William Turner

View of Hills

1824

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Moselle (or Rhine) Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 160 × 235 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D20168
Turner Bequest CCXIX 7

Catalogue entry

Rendered in light and agile pencil line, this view shows the towering slopes of the Moselle valley. Turner’s inscription ‘?Preda’ may refer to the town of Breidel near Zell.

This drawing bears evidence of Turner’s technique of ‘rubbing out’ areas of watercolour to create highlights. He used soft materials such as blotting paper balled together, small chunks of stale bread, or a clean brush washed out with water to rub out pigment and reveal the whiteness of the support.1

Joyce H. Townsend in Evelyn Joll, Martin Butlin and Luke Herrmann (eds.), The Oxford Companion to J.M.W. Turner, Oxford 2001, p.285 entry under ‘Scratching Out’.

Verso:

Blank

Alice Rylance-Watson
November 2013

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