Joseph Mallord William Turner R.A.

John Ruskin (1819-1900);
possibly his sale, London, Christie's, 15 April 1869, lots 24-32;
Sir David Young Cameron R.A. (1865-1945);
Edward Proctor, Norwel Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire;
with Ian MacNicol Galleries, Glasgow;
with The Fine Art Society, London by whom sold in 1961 to Walter Brandt 

Suffolk, Ickworth House, Exhibition of English Water-colours of the Great Period, 1968, no. 73

A. Bury, 'Fine Art Watercolours', Connoisseur, April 1961, p. 205 
A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, London 1979, p. 461, no. 1344  

Support Turner has used a sheet of 1835 Whatman paper, which shows a strong watermark in the lower part of the sheet, upon which to execute this double sided drawing. It is adhered on the verso on all edges to a mount displaying the drawing on the verso. The sheet is somewhat time stained and the remains of old papers are visible at the top two corners. The mount has stained the edges of the recto. There is a vertical, small, thinned area running from the top to the right into the mountains, this has resulted in a light line in this area. Medium The opening of the over-mount is approximately .75% smaller than the drawing thus covering the edges of the sheet. This area demonstrates that this drawing has become faded due to exposure to light, as the original colours are preserved by the mount covering them. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions. Condition report by Jane McAusland (Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These spontaneous and energetic sketches retain the vitality of the artist Turner who, despite being in the later years of his life, demonstrates all the excitement and passion for recording landscapes which remains so moving and inspirational today. Turner first visited the Rhine in 1817 and travelled through the area many times over the next twenty-five years, depicting it in many works. 

Between 1841 and 1844 Turner used the Rhine as a 'highway' to and from Switzerland (as Cecilia Powell so charmingly put it in her catalogue of Turner in Germany, 1995). Such was his passion for this area that he recorded many of its sights in tiny notebooks (e.g. Dover, Rhine and Innsbruck, TB CCCIX, larger 'roll sketchbooks' (e.g. Rhine and Rhine Castles, TB CCCLI) and sometimes, as here, on loose sheets of paper where he used both sides.

The present watercolour was painted with the wonderful addition of a second pencil sketch on the verso of the sheet. Comparison with the large watercolour entitled Burg Sooneck with Bacharach in the Distance, c. 1820 (Aberdeen City Arts Department, Art Gallery & Museums, Wilton 693) demonstrates Turner's fascination with a viewpoint where the dramatic and distinctive tower of Burg Sooneck is recorded on the left, prominently positioned above the smooth expanse of the Rhine below.

Burg Sooneck lies a few miles north of Bingen and is one of the oldest castles on the most picturesque part of the Rhine. The original building dated back to the eleventh century, taking its name from its situation at the edge of the Soon Forest. Besieged, destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it was eventually acquired by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia in 1834 and was rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style over the following decades.  

On the verso of this sheet we find a sketch made a short way downstream (heading northbound) with the castle on the left identifiable as Burg Fürsternberg with Bacharach (on the river's edge) and the castle Burg Stahleck. The village of Lorch is on the right with Burg Nollig above it. The diagonals of hillside show a craggy edge where the valley of the Wisper meets that of the Rhine. This work belongs to the group of similar sketches which Wilton lists in the above catalogue on pp. 459-462 and which Cecilia Powell includes in the above 1995 catalogue nos. 113-114.  

We are grateful to both Cecilia Powell and Peter Bower for their assistance in cataloguing this work.