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Fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen
Joseph Mallord William Turner (English, 1775–1851)
about 1805–06
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
148.6 x 239.7 cm (58 1/2 x 94 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Alice Marian Curtis, and Special Picture Fund
Accession Number13.2723
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
In 1802 Turner visited the Swiss Alps, making more than four hundred drawings that he used for decades as source material for grand paintings. Here, he captured the force of the famous waterfall at Schaffhausen by flattening thick paint with a palette knife, so that the water seems to have the solidity and shape of the rocks. In the foreground, the activities of local inhabitants are dwarfed by the tremendous cascade. The scene underscores the insignificance of human concerns before the power of nature—a romantic theme very much to Turner's taste.
ProvenanceFebruary 1807, sold by the artist to Sir John Fleming Leicester (b. 1762 - d. 1827), 1st Lord de Tabley [see note 1]; by descent within the family to Lord Cuthbert Leicester Warren and his wife; 1912, sold by Lady Leicester Warren to Arthur J. Sulley and Agnew, London (joint account; Agnew stock no. J1615); 1913, sold by Agnew and Sulley to the MFA for $95,460. (Accession Date: September 4, 1913)
NOTES:
[1] The date of sale may have been February 9. He returned "The Shipwreck" (London, Tate Gallery) to Turner in partial exchange for the "Fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen," paying an additional 50 guineas. Provenance is taken from Douglas Hall, "The Tabley House Papers," Walpole Society, 38 (1960-1962): 93; Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, "The Paintings of J. M. W. Turner," rev. ed. (New Haven and London, 1984), p. 48, cat. no. 61; and information provided by the Getty Provenance Index.
NOTES:
[1] The date of sale may have been February 9. He returned "The Shipwreck" (London, Tate Gallery) to Turner in partial exchange for the "Fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen," paying an additional 50 guineas. Provenance is taken from Douglas Hall, "The Tabley House Papers," Walpole Society, 38 (1960-1962): 93; Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, "The Paintings of J. M. W. Turner," rev. ed. (New Haven and London, 1984), p. 48, cat. no. 61; and information provided by the Getty Provenance Index.