Scawfell Pike, View from the Summit

In the summer of 1840, Turner traveled north to England’s Lake District in search of subject matter. The area was popular among tourists for its dramatic landscape of windswept peaks and deep blue lakes. This watercolor records the vista seen from Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. The large horizontal format provides ample space in which to describe the panorama, defined by bands of darker and lighter blue that stretch across the sheet. The nearness of a rocky drop-off evokes the dizzying and potentially life-threatening sensation of standing at the summit’s edge. Turner’s landscape balances naturalistic and topographic accuracy with the ability to provoke an emotional response (2022).