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

This is the last of four pages of notes Turner took from the ‘Third Excursion’ section of Alois Wilhelm Schreiber’s The Traveller’s Guide down the Rhine (see also Tate D19563–D19565; Turner Bequest CCXVI 6a–7a). The manuscript notes on these pages list the names of towns and the distances between them, sites of historical interest, antiquities, picture collections, inns and travel information for the journey between ‘Coblentz to Trêves’ when travelling ‘the course of the Moselle’.1 Turner’s use of Schreiber’s guidebook, published in English in 1818, is discussed in the general Introduction to this tour.

The artist’s notes are transcribed thus:

Upon quitting Bernkastel and its environs, Schreiber writes that the Moselle ‘makes numerous bends, being obliged to follow the direction of the mountains’2. Indeed, the route is so full of loops and meanders that if the traveller were to follow the path along its banks ‘to his great astonishment, after several hours’ walk, he will find himself at the same point that he set out at’.3 After passing the village of Tron, the market town of Neumagen comes into view. There the ruins of an old castle can be seen, and within it ‘a curious tower, built of free-stone, which was erected by the Romans, and still bears marks of inscription and bas-reliefs’.4 The next town is Trittenheim, ‘the natal place of the celebrated John Trithemius... author of several historical works’.5 Navigating the river, the traveller enjoys a ‘range of beautiful villages’, which ‘exhibit’ themselves on both sides of its banks; he then reaches Riol, where ‘the old castle of Riegelsbourg, the Rigodulum of the Romans’ is situated.6 From the village of ‘Erang, or Ering’ (misspelt by Turner as ‘Erzig’), the traveller proceeds to Pfälzel or Pfalz, where there are the ‘remains of several ancient entrenchments... made by the Electors of Trêves’ as shelters during times of ‘dissension’.7 The Romans, too, ‘had an establishment at this place’ and ‘during the reign of the kings of the Franks, Pfälzel had a royal palace and a large farm belonging to the crown’.8

The final destination in Schreiber’s itinerary to the ‘Third Excursion’ is the ancient Roman city of Trèves. Turner’s notes show that he selected from Schreiber’s list of the city’s ‘most remarkable buildings’.9 The first of these is the ‘ancient Palace of the Elector, which has been converted into barracks’, followed by ‘the beautiful Church of Notre-Dame... built between the years 1227 and 1243’.10 Then: ‘the Church of St. Simeon, a very ancient Building’ said to have been ‘used by the Gauls for their public meetings, and by the Romans as their capitol’.11 Owing to the black colour of its ‘two grand arches, which once formed the entrance of the town’, St Simeon was renamed ‘Black Gate’ or the Porta Negra.12 Next on Turner’s list is the Church of St Paulin, which boasts a ceiling ‘ornamented with a beautiful picture’, and the Cathedral of St Peter, ‘built on a small hill, and ornamented with beautiful altars and a marble gallery’.13 Schreiber also recommends a visit to the university of Trèves, for its recently converted gymnasium.14

Among the ‘monuments of Roman architecture’ to be enjoyed in the city, Turner takes note of ‘the Piers of the Bridge of the Moselle’ and the vestiges of the Amphitheatre (Schreiber advises that ‘an engraved view’ of the latter of these monuments can be seen in ‘Wyttenbach’s History of Trêves’).15 The ‘Roman pyramid’ one league and a quarter from the city and the ‘remains of a large aqueduct’ two leagues away are also worthy of an excursion.16 Just outside of Trèves, there are ‘four Benedictine abbeys; those of St Martin, St Matthew, St Marie aux Martyrs, and St Maximin’, each of which boasts beautiful settings and rich histories.17 Turner’s page and Schreiber’s account of the city end with a note on the best inns to stay at whilst sojourning at Trèves: these are The Red House and the Fountain.18