Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
Grenoble Bridge, ca. 1824
Watercolor and gouache on paper
20 7/8 x 28 1/4 in. (53 x 71.8 cm)
The Baltimore Museum of Art; Purchase with exchange funds from Nelson and Juanita Greif Gutman Collection
Photo Mitro Hood
Turner captures the grandeur of the landscape surrounding Grenoble, at the foot of the Alps in southeast France. The warm colors of the town, where figures crowd the river banks, are set off by the snowcapped mountains in the background. Although painted about 1824, this view is closely based on sketches Turner made of Grenoble during his first visit to the Continent two decades earlier.