J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

There are three mountain views down the page here; the second and third are inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation. Separated by a vertical pencil line, there is an inconsequential continuation at the top right from one of the views of Trento on folio 37 recto opposite (D31669). Over half of the pages in this book comprise relatively slight sketches from Turner’s homeward route north through the valleys of the Alps via Trento, Bolzano (Bozen) and Innsbruck. As set out in the Introduction, although his overall itinerary is clear from many identified subjects, they were are not drawn in a single sequence, making the rugged scenes between them difficult to place.

The bottom sketch is continued right across the opposite page, where Castel Firmiano (Schloss Sigmundskron) is shown from the south, on its crag above the Adige (Etsch) Valley. In this half, the view continues north-east up the valley of the Isarco (Eisack), towards Bolzano and the Dolomites. Among various others of the castle and its surroundings, compare the similar main view on folio 45 recto (D31685); for an overview, see under folio 1 verso (D31598).