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Chepstow Castle (recto)

Maker

(artist)
1775-1851

Title

Date of Production

1793 - 1794 or 1795 - 1796

Medium

graphite, watercolour (recto), watercolour and some rubbing and scraping (verso), on wove paper

Dimensions

Height: 20.9 cm
Width: 29.9 cm

Accession Number

D.1974.STC.1

Mode of Acquisition

Jeanne Courtauld, gift, in memory of Sir Stephen Courtauld, 1974

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Recto: This watercolour is one of fifteen topographical designs for engravings that Turner produced for the Copper-Plate Magazine. Viewed from an oblique angle, the attractive timber-decked bridge acts as a link between the viewer and the far landscape – one of Turner’s favourite compositional devices. The patterns and shapes formed by the play of light on the river and near buildings are precisely delineated, while the wooded cliff and castle, picturesquely silhouetted on the horizon, are less distinct, their warm, muted tones creating a sense of distance.

Verso: Among Turner’s many technical experiments in the 1790s, none was more striking than his making of transparencies, of which this sheet is the first dateable example. The broad washes of colour seen here correspond precisely to the principal elements on the reverse of the sheet. When viewed from that side, with a light held behind it, the colours and tones are greatly intensified.

Provenance

possibly in the collection of friend of the artist, Charles Stokes (1784-1853), by 1853; by descent to his niece, Hannah Cooper; purchased from her by Thomas Griffith, Norwood, 15 February 1858; possibly sold by R. Chambers at Christie's (London), 29 March 1859, lot 7; purchased there by Ernest Gambart (London); possibly sold anonymously at Foster's (London), 19 November 1860, lot 88; bought in; Sir Joseph Heron, Manchester (1809-1889); his sale, Christies (London), 9 June 1890, lot 75; purchased there by Walford; Cotswold Gallery (London); Sir Stephen Courtauld (1883-1967); by descent to Jeanne Courtauld, 1972; presented by Jeanne Courtauld in memory of Stephen Courtauld, 1974

Exhibition History

The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019

Paths to Fame - Turner's Watercolour Landscapes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 30/10/2008-25/01/2009

Paths to Fame - Turner's Watercolour Landscapes, Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere, England, 16/07/2008-12/10/2008 ...More

J.M.W. Turner, 'That Greatest of Landscape Painters' -
Watercolours from London Museums, Tulsa, USA, 08/02/1998-12/04/1998

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986

Mantegna to Cezanne - Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 24/02/1983-19/06/1983

Turner, Prout, Steer - Three Bequests to the Courtauld Institute
Galleries, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1980

English Landscape Drawing and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/05/1977-01/06/1977

Watercolours by J. M. W. Turner from the Collection of Sir Stephen Courtauld, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, May 1974-May 1974 ...Less

Literature

Serres, Karen (ed.), The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, Paul Holberton Publishing 2019
p. 339
ill. on p. 339

Paths to Fame: Turner Watercolours from The Courtauld Gallery, Wordsworth Trust; Courtauld Gallery, 2008-2009
no. 4
ill. on p. 47

J.M.W. Turner, "that greatest of landscape painters": watercolors from London museums, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1998
no. 1
ill. on p. 73 ...More

J.M.W. Turner, 'That Greatest of Landscape Painters' - Watercolours from London Museums, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1998

CADW Welsh Historic Monuments, On the Trail of Turner in North and South Wales, Cardiff, 1995
ill. on p. 6-7

The Northern Landscape. Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Drawing Center, New York; Courtauld Institute Galleries, 1986
no. 110
ill. on p. 243

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 110
ill. on p. 243

Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
no. 120, p. 102
ill on p. 116

Turner Prout Steer Three Bequests to the Courtauld Institute of Art, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1980
no. 1 (Turner)
pl. 1

Wilton, Andrew, The life and work of J.M.W. Turner, London, 1979
no. 88
ill.

English Landscape Drawing and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1977
cat. no. 22

Kitson, Michael, Watercolours by J.M.W. Turner: Turner watercolours from the collection of Stephen Courtauld, London, Courtauld Institute of Art, 1974
no. 1 ...Less

Inscriptions

Label: Backing paper from old mount.

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