Luxembourg from the Alzette Valley to the North
J. M. W. Turner·1839
Historical Context
Luxembourg from the Alzette Valley from 1839 records the dramatic gorge that divides the fortress city during one of Turner's Continental tours. The vertiginous topography and ancient fortifications provided a subject combining sublime natural scenery with military architecture. The work was shown at the Royal Academy, where Turner sent work consistently for fifty years; his exhibits provoked both admiration and controversy for their progressive dissolution of conventional form into atmosphere.
Technical Analysis
Turner renders the deep valley with dramatic perspective and atmospheric depth, using the contrast between the shadowed gorge and sunlit upper city to create a powerful spatial composition.
Look Closer
- ◆Look at the gorge of the Alzette below Luxembourg — the vertiginous valley that Turner renders with dramatic perspective, the deep canyon creating the composition's extraordinary sense of depth and height.
- ◆Notice the fortified city on the plateau above — the medieval and early modern military architecture that made Luxembourg one of Europe's great strongholds, visible high above the valley floor.
- ◆Observe the atmospheric treatment of the deep valley — Turner uses the depth of the gorge to create dramatic contrasts between shadowed valley floor and sunlit upper city.
- ◆Find the scale of the figures or bridges visible within the gorge — their tiny dimensions against the walls and cliffs making the landscape's vertiginous scale viscerally felt.
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