Project 1: Locations of 1802 Chartreuse Sketches by Comparative Photography

For in-depth reading, refer to Prue Bishop's research paper in the summer 2015 British Art Journal Volume XVI No. 1

Project 2: The Northern Part of Turner's 1844 Tour of Switzerland

For in-depth reading, refer to Prue Bishop's research paper in the summer 2016 British Art Journal Volume XVII No. 1

Project 3: Turner's Heidelberg Germany - a suggested new title: Susa Italy

For in-depth reading, refer to Prue Bishop's research paper in The British Art Journal published March 2018 Volume XVIII No. 3

Project 4: Identifying the Location of a Sketch by JMW Turner and Re-titling an Early Oil Painting

Project 4 had the honour of being the Featured Article in The British Art Journal Volume XXIII No. 3 . The entire research paper is now here on this site, updated as new information arises.  

Project 5: The missing sketches of his 80km trek around Mont Blanc in 1802 from Chamonix to Courmayeur

 

Introduction to the Projects

Project 1: The results of our Turner 1802 Chartreuse researches are published in the summer 2015 issue of the British Art Journal. Included are many photographs comparing Turner's sketches with the same scenes today. The subjects of several sketches are identified for the first time, along with where he stayed and his precise route. This on-line version is a summary with updates.

Project 2: Spring 2016 issue of The British Art Journal. For the first time, firm dates are dug out of the Heidelberg, Basle and Baden City Archives for the Northern Part of JMW Turner's 1844 Swiss Tour, including a surprising finding that he seems to have spent a week in Baden Switzerland in a topmost spa-hotel. Furthermore, a solution to a 174-year-old rhyming riddle is suggested that Turner left in one of his sketches that refers to a book highlighting the shortcomings of certain Oxford University students - that could be interpreted as something of a put-down for the then recently-graduated John Ruskin. This on-line version is an update pointing to new findings that are yet to be published that will complicate the suggested route.

Project 3: In the March 2018 issue of The British Art Journal, we report on two years of study either side of the Mont Cenis Pass between France and Italy, strongly suggesting a re-titling of a late Turner master-oil-painting from Heidelberg Germany to Susa Italy. Tate Britain has informed Prue Bishop that they now accept that this painting is not Heidelberg. However, the gallery seems nervous to grasp the need for a new title. Presented here is a summary of our findings with updates such as why Turner chose not to title the work himself.

Project 4: In the May 2023 issue of The British Art Journal, Prue and John Bishop report a detailed study and firm re-titling of an 1802 Turner sketch of the south side of the Mont Blanc Massif - from a unique location near La Salle in the Aosta Valley where the nearby Château Châtelard precisely overlays an intersecting mountain background. They point out that as they walked up the slope to this point, just as JMW Turner had done, that the nearby castle moves along the landscape on the left-hand side in such a way that this point of intersection with the mountain slopes is remarkably attention-grabbing. This seems to be not a new experience, as the spot is also marked by a roadside Christian cross. They contend that Turner, having a most notable visual memory, would have retained this eye-catching intersection in his visual memory, even almost certainly recalling a similar subject of the oil painting that he had recently presented to the Royal Academy in London that had gained him full membership. In addition, we contend that this view of the Château Châtelard is the subject of a Turner oil painting that was until now thought to be of Martigny. Such proposals to re-title Turner oil paintings that are in the charge of the Tate gallery are virtually unknown, yet this is the second by the authors.

We are plesed to now present a comprehensive summary of the peer reviewed Project-4 paper, along with updates

Project 5: It has long been thought that Turner made no sketches as he and Lowson trekked around the western side of Mont Blanc from Chamonix to Courmayeur in 1802, but our research reveals a series of detailed, large and accurate studies.

 

Prue and John Bishop have also uncovered additional firm dates and other facts about Turner's Continental travels that could be published, and they continue to be on the roads of Continental Europe seeking out new facts.

 

This page was last updated on March 19th, 2025