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

Turner was in Coburg, then capital of the German Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, between 17 and 20 September 1840, and made many drawings of the town and its surroundings in the Venice; Passau to Würzburg sketchbook; see under Tate D31278 (Turner Bequest CCCX 1a). Cecilia Powell identified the present colour study, comparing it with one of the small pencil sketches on D31278 and describing the scene:

The latter features also appear in Tate D32187 (Turner Bequest CCCXVII 8), a similar colour study of the market place.2 Powell continued: ‘the foreground ... is alive with bustle and activity. Passengers are obviously arriving or departing by carriage in front of the hotel itself, while their horse thankfully accepts a nosebag from the coachman.’ This is one of four grey paper views around Coburg, which can all be related to Venice; Passau to Würzburg pencil sketches (see also Tate D32188 and D32190; Turner Bequest CCCXVII 9, 11); there are additionally three loose watercolours on conventional white sheets (D35889, D35948, D36187; CCCLXIV 49, 105, 329).3

Originally described as simply showing ‘A market place’,4 this sheet had nevertheless been included in the ‘Venice: Miscellaneous. (b) Grey Paper’ section of Finberg’s 1909 Inventory, albeit among a handful (Tate D32185–D32191; Turner Bequest CCCXVII 6–12) of which he noted ‘some – probably all ... are not Venetian subjects’, but likely ‘done at the same time, and may therefore help to throw light on Turner’s movements.’5 He later tentatively annotated his entry: ‘? Innsbruck’;6 and in 1930 he noted that ‘some ... may have been made in the Tyrol on the way to or from Venice’.7 Other than D32189, a view of Bolzano (Bozen) from the outward leg, and D32191, which may show the Venetian Lagoon, they have all since been identified as German subjects from 1840’s return journey, and are included in this subsection (see also the technical notes).

Technical notes:

Cecilia Powell has observed that this composition ‘can best be studied from close to and from slightly to its right so that a raking light reveals its fine tonal details which are largely shown in the palest gouache washes.’1 Pencil was used for the figures, coach and horse at the left, seemingly observed directly, with only one or two other strokes. The depiction of the crowd and vehicles lapses into a swirling silhouette of grey wash towards the right.

Among many such works on the blue or grey papers customarily used by Turner, this is one of five originally from a single piece (Tate D32186–D32188, D32190, D36158; Turner Bequest CCCXVII 7–9, 11; CCCLXIV 301) to be identified by Cecilia Powell as showing Coburg and Würzburg subjects.2 They are neatly torn eighths of a sheet of grey Bally, Ellen and Steart paper, likely made in 18293 (albeit none of these sections bears a watermark), of the type often used in 1840 (see the Introduction to the overall tour).4

Noting Finberg’s provisional mingling of then unidentified German views with Venice subjects in the 1909 Inventory, as discussed above, Powell concurred that ‘there are, indeed, strong resemblances of both palette and expression between the four Coburg [and single Würzburg] drawings and the much larger Venetian group’, and suggested that the other three eights of the sheet had likely been used in Venice,5 although this possibility was not addressed specifically in Ian Warrell’s subsequent checklist of the Bally, Ellen and Steart sheets Turner used there.6

Verso:

Blank; inscribed in pencil ‘CCCXVII.7’ bottom right; stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram over ‘CCCXVII – 7’ bottom right.