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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > The Second Meuse-Moselle Tour 1839 > Spa, Dinant and Namur Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Distant View of Spa 1839

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Distant View of Spa’ 1839
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 21 Recto:
Distant View of Spa 1839
D28082
Turner Bequest CCLXXXVII 21
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 94 x 154 mm
Watermarked ‘[Fe]llows’
Inscribed by Turner in Pencil ‘Corn’ at centre towards bottom and ‘Spa’ at bottom right
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘350’ bottom right and ‘21’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXXVII–21’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Rendered with loose handling, Turner has sketched a view of the hilly topography surrounding Spa in Belgium: the town can be seen nestled in the distant valley where the Ardennes ridges dip. Trees and gently sloping hillsides have been suggested, Turner annotating part of the land with the word ‘Corn’ to note the local crop. At the bottom right of the sheet he has inscribed the town’s name, ‘Spa’. The municipality has historically been a site for the taking of mineral waters believed to posses natural healing and health-giving properties.
For other views of Spa in this sketchbook see Tate D28078, D28083, D28086–D28092, D28107–D28116; Turner Bequest CCLXXXVII 19, 21a, 23–6, 34a–39a.

Alice Rylance-Watson
April 2013

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘Distant View of Spa 1839 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-distant-view-of-spa-r1150356, accessed 19 April 2024.