Description
J. M. W. Turner’s Châtel Argent watercolor shows a yellow crag bearing a castle or tower at the left, with gray-blue Alpine ridges and a valley opening to the right. The view of Châtel Argent above Villeneuve joins a nearby built presence to great distance. Color makes their differing scales tangible, allowing the historical structure and expansive land to share the image’s attention.
Made in 1836, the work uses watercolor and gouache over graphite. Its combination of transparent and more opaque color distinguishes it from the monochrome prints associated with Turner’s landscape studies. The image gives a place a material atmosphere as well as a geographic identity. Its interest lies in encountering the valley through an elevated view, where a familiar built presence and the greater landscape can share attention without either becoming merely incidental to the other.
Read our guide to giclée prints, browse the Turner collection, or explore The Lake of Zug.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.