Joseph Mallord William Turner A Round Tower at Twilight: ?Gisors c.1830
Joseph Mallord William Turner,
A Round Tower at Twilight: ?Gisors
c.1830
A Round Tower at Twilight: ?Gisors c.1830
D24754
Turner Bequest CCLIX 189
Turner Bequest CCLIX 189
Gouache and watercolour on blue wove paper, 138 x 192 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom left
Stamped in black ‘CCLIX 189’ bottom right
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom left
Stamped in black ‘CCLIX 189’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Exhibition history
1904
National Gallery, London, various dates to at least 1904 (435d, as ‘Round Tower in Twilight’).
1937
Watercolours from the Turner Bequest, Gloucester, May–July 1937 (no catalogue but numbered 3b as ‘A Bastion; moonlight’).
1984
J.M.W. Turner in Luxembourg and its neighbourhood, Musée de l’Etat, Luxembourg, March–April 1984 (16, as ‘Vue de Luxembourg (?): la tour d’Altmünster au clair de lune(?)’, reproduced).
References
1879
Philip Gilbert Hamerton, The Life of J. M. W. Turner, R.A., London 1879, p.184, as ‘Ruined Castle’, reproduced.
1904
E.T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn eds., Library Edition: The Works of John Ruskin: Volume XIII: Turner: The Harbours of England; Catalogues and Notes, London 1904, pp. 292, 630 no.435d, as ‘Round Tower in Twilight’.
1830
A.J. Finberg, A Complete Inventory of the Drawings of the Turner Bequest, London 1909, vol.II, p.800, CCLIX 189, as ‘Round Tower: Twilight. Exhibited Drawings. No. 435c [sic], N.G.’, c.1830.
1984
Gèrard Thill, Jean-Claude Muller and Jean Luc Koltz, J.M.W. Turner in Luxembourg and its neighbourhood, exhibition catalogue, Musée de l’Etat, Luxembourg 1984, p.70 no.16, as ‘Vue de Luxembourg (?): la tour d’Altmünster au clair de lune(?)’, reproduced.
This striking image of a tower in the moonlight has been loosely painted, with broad washes of colour. The large tower dominates the left portion of the composition. A curious viaduct-like structure appears to protrude from the tower into the landscape. Beyond this structure are additional buildings or towers and several trees are discernible on the right. In the foreground, a streak of white paint, suggestive of a ghostly figure or presence, stands out against the subdued, earthly palette which characterises the rest of the drawing. The treatment of the subject evokes a sombre, foreboding atmosphere, where the buildings and trees appear to blend or evaporate into the night sky.
The location of this scene has not been conclusively identified. It has been suggested that the tower might be that of the abbey at Altmünster in Luxembourg, which Turner certainly visited in 1824 (see Tate D19712; Turner Bequest CCXVI 82).1 This attribution was largely founded on its comparison with another view in the Bequest (see D20265; CCXXII F), which was also said to represent the tower at Altmünster.2 However, as described in the present catalogue, this drawing has now been identified as showing the castle and collegiate church at Gisors in Normandy. The compositional and topographical resemblances between these two scenes is compelling, indicating that the subject of the present drawing might also be properly identified as Gisors. Indeed, other views of Gisors contained in the Seine and Paris sketchbook associated with the artist’s tour of the Seine in 1832 display additional similarities (see for example Tate D23962 and D23983; Turner Bequest CCLIV 41a, 52) suggesting the tower depicted here might be the Tour du Prisonnier. A discrepancy concerns the inclusion and appearance of the bridge, as no known view of Gisors contains such a motif. However, this may have been distorted or even invented by Turner, in the pursuit of an atmospheric presentation of the effects of the moonlight on these imposing structures, which would appear to be the true subject in this case.
Verso:
Blank, except for inscription in pencil ‘25’ right of centre. Stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram over ‘CCLIX 189’ right of centre, towards bottom.
Hayley Flynn
April 2024
How to cite
Hayley Flynn, ‘A Round Tower at Twilight: ?Gisors c.1830’, catalogue entry, April 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2024, https://www