Fort Bard, Val d'Aosta card

Fort Bard, Val d'Aosta

Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1836 possibly
LL 3775

Currently not on display

Walker Art Gallery

Information

Turner visited Fort Bard in the Aosta Valley in north-west Italy in 1836. He made several sketches of the fort in pencil. It had famously been captured by Napoleon in 1800. Turner rarely used colour when working from nature. He preferred to make several sketches of a view in pencil rather than focus on making one coloured work. This watercolour is an exception. His travel companion on the trip recalled, ‘I don’t remember colouring coming out on the trip until Switzerland.’

Specifications

Accession number
LL 3775
Collection type
Drawing or Watercolour - Drawing
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Place made
Europe: Southern Europe: Italy: Aosta Valley
Date made
1836 possibly
Materials
Watercolour; Pencil; Paper; Scratching out
Measurements
Paper: 25.6 cm x 27.9 cm
Credit line
Purchased by William Hesketh Lever 1923
Legal status
Permanent collection
Provenance
William Hesketh Lever, Previous owner, Purchased from Christie's on 22 June 1923…
Location
Item not currently on display
Publications
British Watercolours and Drawings: Lord Leverhulme's Collection in the Lady Leve…