Joseph Mallord William Turner
1836, watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite, 10 1/8 x 12 in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gift of Harold K. Hochschild, 1940
Determined to elevate landscape painting to the realm of high art, English painter J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) embraced what he called going “on the wing” — traveling far and wide in pursuit of inspiration. His early explorations took him across Britain, but at age 28, he ventured beyond, seizing a brief window of peace in 1802 between the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to visit France and Switzerland.
Turner worked primarily in pencil during his travels, sketching directly from life. These field drawings often became the foundation for finished paintings completed months — or even years — later in the studio. In the piece featured below, he began with a delicate pencil outline, then layered watercolor from light to dark, carefully staying within the lines. Misty distant mountains emerge through faint washes, while tightly spaced short strokes describe the forested slopes below. In the foreground, he gently rubbed out pigment to suggest reflections of sky on the still surface of the lake. With the addition of modern fishing boats gliding past the crumbling ruins of the medieval castle, he subtly evoked one of his favorite themes: the passage of time and the quiet persistence of nature.
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1809, watercolor on paper, 10 1/4 x 14 3/4 in.
Taft Museum of Art, Bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Phelps Taft
VISUAL PILGRIMAGES
As he hoped, Turner’s travels didn’t just produce compelling art. His atmospheric watercolors of the Alps and Italy became visual pilgrimages for later travelers — helping to guide a burgeoning tourism industry, and lending a new cultural and commercial significance to landscape painting.
By blending field sketching with studio refinement, Turner created a bridge between observation and imagination — capturing both the grandeur of place and the fleeting spirit of the moment. His journeys remind us that painting outdoors is more than technique; it’s an act of discovery, a conversation with nature itself — and the wellspring of artistic invention.
To learn more about painting en plein air, join watercolor pros Iain Stewart, Keiko Tanabe, and Yong Hong Zhong at Plein Air Live, November 6-8, 2025.
