Beschreibung:

DescriptionJoseph Mallord William Turner R.A.London 1775 - 1851Ponte Suza at Aosta in the Italian Alps 
Watercolour, heightened with white238 by 302 mmCondition reportSupport
This Turner watercolour is on a sheet of white, wove-type Whatman paper. It is, at present, laid down onto a thin piece of card. The sheet is a little 'time-stained'.There are a few repaired damages, likely to be old foxmarks, which have been treated in the past. This are visible on close inspection above the bridge (two) and in the sky (one).
Medium
Turner has used a light pastel colour palate in this work, which is consistent with other watercolours made on the 1836 tour. Some of the more delicate pigments have dropped back, softening the impact of the image.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."ProvenanceJohn Ruskin (1819-1900),
his sale, London, Christies, 22 July 1882, lot 59, as ‘The Bridge’
with Agnew’s, London;
by whom sold to Sir John William Ramsden, 5th Bt (1831-1914), 27 February 1883;
sale, London, Sotheby’s, 18 March 1964, lot 20, as ‘Bellinzona’, bt. Castle £450;
G. L. Castle;
with P. & D. Colnaghi, London;
sale, London, Sotheby’s, 22 March 1979, lot 101, as ‘A bridge over a river in the Alps’,
where acquired by the parents of the present owners 
 LiteratureSir W. Armstrong, Turner, London 1902, p. 243, as ‘The Bridge, 1840-5, 'Ex Ruskin Collection’
A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, Fribourg 1979, p. 481, no. 1510ExhibitedLondon, Fine Art Society, Notes by John Ruskin on His Drawings by J.M.W. Turner, R.A., 1878, nos. 60-61Catalogue noteIn 1878 John Ruskin displayed his collection of watercolours by Turner at the Fine Art Society on Bond Street. The Eighth Group of the exhibition was entitled Morning, By the Riversides [1830-1840], and included a pair of watercolours simply called The Bridge. Ruskin commented on them as follows: ‘I am always in hopes of being told by some traveller where this bridge is; a very notable one over a wide river, by evidently an important city.’1Despite this request for assistance in identifying the location depicted, the two works retained their generalised titles when they were put up for sale at Christie’s on 22 July 1882. They appeared there as two separate lots: 59, The Bridge; and lot 60, The Bridge: Evening. Ruskin’s editors, Cook & Wedderburn, believed that the pair were jointly sold for £126.2 However, Graves’ auction records, indicates that the first item fetched £126, and was sold to Agnew (stock number 6636), whereas the second work reached £157.10s before being bought in.3 
The watercolour discussed here was one of the two works in question and was catalogued by Andrew Wilton in his 1979 book as no. 1510, Swiss lake scene with bridge (“Bellinzona”). The second work - its pair - came to light again recently at the Sotheby’s sale on 9 July 2014, where it was identified for the first time as a view Looking down the Val d’Aosta towards Aosta and the Pont Suza.4 The provenance for that watercolour has so far only been traced back as far as the 1970s, but it is possible that it is the work in the 1882 sale, catalogued as lot 60. Its warm colouring, especially for the sunlight on the mountains above the bridge, would be consistent with the title The Bridge: Evening. If that assumption is correct, it remained in Ruskin’s collection after the sale in 1882 and was dispersed at a later date.
The 'Bridge' subject bought by Agnew’s in 1882 might then be the present work, which is another exciting rediscovery, and a more focused study of the Pont Suza, with the peaks leading to the Great St Bernard Pass beyond. Agnew’s subsequently sold it, on 27 February 1883, to Sir John William Ramsden, 5th Bt (1831-1914). He was then the Liberal MP for the Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire, and was based in Huddersfield. The watercolour may have passed down to one of his three daughters, or to his son, his youngest child, Sir John Freschville Ramsden, 6th Bt (1877-1958). But for the moment its history is obscure until it was sold at Sotheby's in 1964. There is, nevertheless, a reference to it (or the other view of Aosta, or perhaps to both), in Sir Walter Armstrong’s 1902 listing of Turner’s watercolours, though no details are given of its whereabouts at that time.
Both watercolours can be associated with the tour of the Val d’Aosta that Turner made in 1836, during which he was uncharacteristically accompanied by his friend and patron Hugh Andrew Johnson Munro of Novar (1797-1864). David Hill documented the journey in his exhibition at Aosta in 2000, and its accompanying book. The size of the paper used for this view and its pair is consistent with one of the formats Turner used to make colour sketches, many of which were painted on the spot, or developed shortly afterwards over pencil outlines. The two large pencil sketches Hill reproduced of Aosta both focus on the bridge, indicating that Turner devoted time to cross the river and climb above it to make a full study of the impact of its structure on the valley.5 He also began a new sketchbook while at Aosta, which also includes views of the fortifications and bell-towers of the city, and the Pont Suza, from the opposite side of the river, revealing how he skillfully condensed the panoramic studies of the scenery when painting the watercolours.6 
We are grateful to Ian Warrell for his help when cataloguing this lot. 
1. Notes by Mr Ruskin Part I on his Drawings by the late J.M.W. Turner, R.A, Part II on his own handiwork illustrative of Turner, Fine Art Exhibition Catalogue, London 1878, p. 51 2. E.T. Cook and A. Wedderburn (eds.), The Works of John Ruskin 1904, vol. XIII, p. 4543. A. Graves, Art Sales from early in the eighteenth century to early in the twentieth century, 1921, vol. III, p. 2384. London, Sotheby’s, 9 July 2014, lot 158, £158,000, also see I. Warrell, Turner’s Sketchbooks, London 2014, p. 1845. D. Hill, Joseph Mallord William Turner Le Mont-Blanc et la Vallée d’Aoste, 2000, p. 286-7, nos. 57 & 58 (TB CCCXLIV 394 & 404)6. Fort Bard sketchbook, Tate Britain D29336, D29338; TB CCXCIV 66, 67