This pencil, black chalk and white gouache composition has been drawn on a greyish-buff laid paper. The black chalk drawing was applied first, followed by the pencil. The gouache wash was applied last; care was taken to ensure that it did not overlap along the skyline. Strong, swift lines and heavy shading are evident in this work; the pencil in particular appears to have been applied using considerable pressure to ensure a dark finish. The gouache is faint but the pencil and black chalk are strong.
The top edge of the sheet has been roughly cut. Unlike other works originally from the same sketchbook, this example has not been exposed to light. Turner’s intended contrast of grey paper, graphite pencil shading and lightly applied gouache can still be seen to advantage in this rapid and effective sketch.
Helen Evans
October 2008
Revised by Joyce Townsend
February 2011
How to cite
Helen Evans, 'Technique and Condition', October 2008, revised by Joyce Townsend, February 2011, in David Blayney Brown, ‘Martigny: Bridge over the River Drance, with the Chapel of Our Lady of Compassion, and La Bâtiaz 1802 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2011, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-martigny-bridge-over-the-river-drance-with-the-chapel-of-our-r1146466, accessed 19 September 2024.
