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Lauerzersee with the Mythens

Watercolour
ca. 1848 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Turner made sketching tours in Britain and Europe every summer. He visited Switzerland several times. This watercolour has also been called Lake of Brienz. Turner painted it in his studio, using a smaller watercolour in a sketchbook he used in Switzerland in 1843 and his extraordinary memory for reference.
This is one of the Swiss watercolours Turner painted late in his career. These paintings, together with his late works in oil, represent the climax of Turner's career. The apparently careless way in which Turner applied the paint hides the fact that these pictures are carefully thought out.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Lauerzersee with the Mythens (popular title)
  • The Lauerzer See, with the Mythens (alternative title)
  • Lake of Brienz (alternative title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour, pen, and red ink
Brief description
Watercolour, 'Lauerzersee with the Mythens', by J. M. W. Turner, pen and red ink, ca. 1848.
Physical description
Watercolour of a lake, with a shepherd and goats in the foreground.
Dimensions
  • Height: 377mm
  • Width: 545mm
Style
Gallery label
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851
The Láuerzersee with the Mythens
About 1848


AT the end of his life Turner worked on watercolours based on drawings made during his 1843 tour of Switzerland. These represent the fullest expression of his depiction of landscape in terms of light and atmosphere. John Ruskin praised his ability to represent 'the far higher and deeper truth of mental vision, rather than that of the physical facts'.

Watercolour and pen and red ink on paper, scraping out

Bequeated by Henry Vaughan 1900
Museum no. 980-1900
Credit line
Henry Vaughan Bequest
Object history
Previously catalogued as 'Lake of Brienz [?]' in British Watercolours in the Victoria and Albert Museum: an Illustrated Catalogue of the National Collection, compiled by Lionel Lambourne and Jean Hamilton, London: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1980.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Turner made sketching tours in Britain and Europe every summer. He visited Switzerland several times. This watercolour has also been called Lake of Brienz. Turner painted it in his studio, using a smaller watercolour in a sketchbook he used in Switzerland in 1843 and his extraordinary memory for reference.
This is one of the Swiss watercolours Turner painted late in his career. These paintings, together with his late works in oil, represent the climax of Turner's career. The apparently careless way in which Turner applied the paint hides the fact that these pictures are carefully thought out.
Bibliographic references
  • Wilton, Andrew. The Life and Work of J. M. W. Turner. London: Academy Editions, 1979. pp. 487-488, ill. ISBN 856705659.
  • Solkin, David (ed.), Turner and the masters, London, Tate Britain, 2009
  • Lambert, Susan. Drawing: Technique & Purpose. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1981. p.52.
  • David Blayney Brown, Amy Concannon and Sam Smiles, eds ; with contributions from Rebecca Hellen, Matthew Imms, Brian Livesley, Nicola Moorby and Joyce H. Townsen,. The EY exhibition : late Turner, painting set free London : Tate Publishing, 2014. 256 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 30 cm. ISBN: 9781849762502 (pbk.) / 1849762503 (pbk.) / 9781849761451 (hbk.) / 1849761450 (hbk.).
Collection
Accession number
980-1900

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Record createdOctober 30, 2002
Record URL
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