Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
Ehrenbreitstein, ca. 1832
Watercolor on paper
11 5/8 x 17 1/8 in. (29.5 x 43.5 cm)
Bury Art Museum, Greater Manchester, UK
© Bury Art Museum, Greater Manchester, UK
The fortress of Ehrenbreitstein that sits atop a cliff across the Rhine from the city of Koblenz is one of Turner’s most frequently depicted sights along the Rhine. The ruinous appearance of the fort suggests that the watercolor is based on sketches Turner made in 1817, before the Prussians finished rebuilding it at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.