Book Description

Turner published two volumes of views of the River Seine in the early 1830s, when he was at the height of his success. All of the watercolours he completed for the project are reproduced in this book, along with many of his preliminary studies. As the text demonstrates, the watercolours are born out of Turner's long familiarity with the river. His views came as part of an explosion in the market for travel books, particularly for the area between Paris and the coast, and a number of these comparable publications, with their illustrations by some of Turner's finest rivals, are discussed. The book also examines how Turner confronted the technical innovations of the new age, making contemporary features, such as canals and steamboats, the subjects of his pictures, and thereby preparing the ground for masterpieces such as The Fighting Temeraire.