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

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, the three studies on this page have been identified by the geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot as the Donzère parade.1 Turner encountered these steep limestone cliffs along the Rhône valley at a late stage of his two-day boat journey from Lyon to Avignon.

The uppermost study depicts the rocky peaks of St Paul and St Michel, with the distant town of Viviers receding to the right.2 The artist’s viewpoint is from downstream, looking back on his route. Beneath is a profile of the Donzère parade from upstream, recording the artist’s south-facing viewpoint. The same cliff formation is captured from a closer vantage point in the bottom sketch. The inclusion of a diminutive bridge in the bottom-left corner draws attention to the vertiginous incline of the rockface, introducing a sublime element to the composition. Further studies of the Donzère parade appear on folios 27 verso–28 verso (D21043–D21045).