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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner Approaching Bonn along the River Rhine: Bonn from the River; the Seven Hills 1817

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  • Enhanced image
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Approaching Bonn along the River Rhine: Bonn from the River; the Seven Hills’ 1817
Folio 88 Recto:
Approaching Bonn along the River Rhine: Bonn from the River; the Seven Hills 1817
D12869
Turner Bequest CLX 86
Pencil on white wove paper, 94 x 150 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘86’ top left, and ‘258’ top right, both ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CLX – 86’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
These sketches were made with the page turned horizontally as Turner approached Bonn on his homeward journey down the Rhine by boat on 29 August 1817. The central view shows the city from the river. Below, Turner looked back upstream towards the Seven Hills (Siebengebirge); the skyline is extended separately on folio 87 verso opposite (D12868; Turner Bequest CLX 85a), where it reaches as far south as Rolandseck, on the other bank of the river.
Technical notes:
Darkened glue along a tear to the fore–edge is prominent towards the top left.

David Blayney Brown
July 2025

How to cite

David Blayney Brown, ‘Approaching Bonn along the River Rhine: Bonn from the River; the Seven Hills 1817’, catalogue entry, July 2025, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, June 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/approaching-bonn-along-the-river-rhine-bonn-from-the-river-the-seven-hills-r1212241, accessed 31 July 2026.