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Borrowdale, Rosthwaite Bridge and Castle Crag

image courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art | Public Domain

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Date

c.1798-1799

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

Collection

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Description

The valley of Borrowdale is in the Lake District of northwestern England. In 1797, Turner sketched there extensively, typically making pencil sketches of the terrain and, weather permitting, adding watercolour passages out-of-doors. Sometime between 1799 and 1801, in London, he consulted his 1797 sketchbook and made this full-scale exhibition watercolour, which was commissioned by a gentleman named John Knowles.
To create the rough textures of the prominent rocks, Turner scraped the pigments off with a tool or his fingernail after the paint had dried. He achieved the brilliant highlights by using gum to protect the areas of white while he applied watercolour washes. The presence of Turner's fingerprints on the sheet indicates that he blended colors by hand.
Borrowdale displays the twenty-five-year-old Turner's mature style, particularly his technique. Conceptually, the composition is influenced by the 17th-century French master Claude Lorrain and his 18th-century English disciple Richard Wilson. This is especially true of the classical repoussoir elements--the receding mountains suffused with light and atmosphere. Borrowdale is a brilliant addition to the Institute's holdings of British watercolours, which include works by John Robert Cozens and Thomas Girtin.
Watercolour with scraping out.

Image Licence

Public Domain

Image Credit

image courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art

Location

Rosthwaite, Borrowdale, Cumbria, England

Country

Medium

Tags

Bridges
Hills
Mountains
Rivers
Streams
Valleys

Category

Landscapes & Seascapes

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform