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

The main drawing was rapidly rendered with the page turned horizontally. It shows a broad mountain valley with a winding river, and cursory buildings at the bottom right. By comparison with the more detailed view corresponding with that part of the scene on folio 40 verso opposite (D31676), the subject is identifiable as Trento, from high to the north-east.

Later developments and trees make the exact viewpoint uncertain, but the prospect over open ground along the Via alle Laste, near the Santa Croce alla Spalliera convent above the Castello del Buonconsiglio, remains comparable, the valley being that of the Adige (Etsch), flowing south into the distance. The mountain profiles at the bottom centre appear to form a continuation westwards to the right of the main view. Compare also the elevated prospects over the city from further north-west on folios 37–38 verso (D31669–D31672), and for other views and Trento’s place in Turner’s itinerary, see under D31669.

At right-angles on the right, inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, is a thumbnail sketch of a castle with a tall tower. 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.