34. Lake of Thun, 1809 ([Plate VI]).
Fortunately this drawing is dated, otherwise one would be tempted to consider it as having been painted some years earlier. It was sketched during Turner’s first tour in Switzerland, in 1802, and may have been begun soon afterwards. It is Wilsonian in colour, but a certain massiveness and heaviness in the design suggest that he was thinking rather too much of the composition of Poussin and the old masters. It is in an excellent state of preservation.
18. Castle of Chillon, 1810 ([Plate VII]).
Another fruit of the 1802 tour in Switzerland, and, like the preceding drawing, painted for Sir J. E. Swinburne. It is more beautiful than the Lake of Thun. The colour is a lovely harmony of deep blues, russet browns and dull crimsons. There is no formalism or heaviness in the design. I hope the fortunate owner of this exquisite drawing will keep it carefully from undue exposure to a strong light, as the blues in it are very sensitive to such influences. When once they have faded they can never be coaxed back. So many of Turner’s drawings of this kind have been ruined by exposure to the light that one cannot but be anxious that this, one of the most beautiful of them all, should be preserved for the delight of the coming generations.
Turner seems to have repeated this subject, as I remember another version of it in Mrs. Stern’s possession which was sold at Christie’s in 1908. Doubtless there are some slight differences in the two drawings, but the design and general effect were similar. Mrs. Stern’s drawing had the same restraint and elegance as this one.
21. Patterdale Old Church, circa 1810 ([Plate VIII]).
Another well-preserved drawing. The indigo and other blues are unfaded. When this drawing was exhibited at the Royal Academy (Old Masters) in 1886, it was described in the catalogue as the original of an engraving of this subject which was published in Mawman’s “Excursion in the Highlands,” 1805. This must be incorrect. The “P.P.” (Professor of Perspective) at the end of Turner’s signature proves it to be a later drawing, as Turner was not elected Professor of Perspective till 1807.
36. Vale of Pevensey, from Rosehill Park, circa 1816.
One of a series of views of Rosehill, Sussex, (now known as Brightling Park) and of places in the neighbourhood, made for Mr. John Fuller, M.P., about 1816. These drawings were inherited by Sir Alexander Acland-Hood, who sold them at Christie’s in 1908. The present drawing has suffered from exposure to a strong light. The indigo having disappeared the general effect is lighter and the colour warmer than when it was first painted. Yet in spite of this, how fine the drawing is! Its complexion, one might say, has changed, but all its native nobility of character remains. How splendidly the subject is conceived, what a glorious composition it makes, yet how truthful and sympathetic the drawing is as a representation of the rolling downs of Sussex, its lusty and happy trees, its exhilarating vistas of the distant sea and rugged coast-line. The elaborate and beautifully drawn pencil study from which this picture was painted is in the National Gallery, in the “Views in Sussex” Sketch Book (Turner Bequest, CXXXVIII, p. 19). The drawing was engraved in aquatint by J. C. Stadler (the same size as the original) for Mr. Fuller, printed in colours, and finished by hand. These prints, Mr. Rawlinson tells us, are excessively rare.
17. Mayence and Kastel, 1817.