TURNER’S TRAVELS

JMW Turner’s youth was blighted by the disruption caused by the French Revolution, but the English artist took every opportunity he could to travel. In 1802, during the short-lived Peace of Amiens, he journeyed through France and Switzerland, heading deep into the Alps, sketching and painting as he went. Then, once the Napoleonic Wars were over, he tapped into the new demand for paintings and prints of popular beauty spots and inspirational destinations, both around Britain and on the Continent.

This demand was driven by the new affluent middle classes, who were dreaming of the possibilities opened up by steamships and the railways. In fact, much of Turner’s art can be seen as a fascinating record of the

early days of leisure travel. He visited the Low Countries, the Rhineland and many parts of Italy, with Venice a particular favourite. He also went on some of the earliest river cruises, booking voyages on steamers down both the Loire and the Seine, specifically to depict the highlights in a series of prints.

The Alps were a powerful draw for the new breed of tourist and Turner was no exception. He made several journeys there in the 1830s and 1840s and among his most famous images are his series of watercolours of the Rigi Mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, which he sketched and painted more than 30 times.

Indeed, Turner helped popularise this area as a holiday destination: the highlight of Thomas Cook’s first package tour to Switzerland in 1863 was an ascent of the Rigi to watch the sunrise. Before long, Queen Victoria herself was holidaying in Lucerne. Tourism had won royal approval – and Turner had been one of its pioneers.

Wish you were here: works like Turner’s ‘Lake of Lucerne from Fluelen’ lured tourists