View of a castle and trees

This monochromatic wash drawing shows the influence of the previous generation of topographical watercolour artists on Turner and that of his teacher, the highly accomplished John Varley (1778-1842). Varley's views on the need to copy from nature and also on the picturesque were to have an important role in the development of Turner's work and are clearly demonstrated here. We see the natural landscape of the forest surrounding and engulfing the ruins of a historic castle; a scene that portrays a natural beauty yet mystifying qualities which set the imagination going. It is this construct of qualities which were deemed to be 'picturesque' by Reverend William Gilpin in the late 18th century. In popularising this concept, many artists began to travel to Wales where such landscapes abounded. Whilst the castle depicted here has not been identified, it bears similarities to castles such as Raglan and Goodrich (which Turner produced worked up watercolours of) and which he would have seen when he made his first trip to the Welsh borders around 1809 to the Wye Valley and Monmouthsire.