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Creator:
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851
Title:
Devil's Bridge, Saint Gotthard's Pass
Former Title(s):
Devil's Bridge, St. Gotthard's Pass
Date:
ca. 1815 (formerly dated ca. 1804)
Materials & Techniques:
Watercolor, white wax crayon, and scraping out on moderately thick, moderately textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 41 5/8 x 29 7/8 inches (105.7 x 75.9 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.12
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
bridge (built work) | landscape | meteorology | mountains | rainbow | river | science | trees
Associated Places:
Devil's Bridge | Europe | Reuss | Saint Gotthard Pass | Schweiz | Schöllenen Gorge | Switzerland
Access:
On view
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:6818
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In this dramatic watercolor, the sheer walls of the valley, the fast-moving stream tumbling into its depths, and the distant form of the bridge — mirroring the arch of the rainbow above — create a thrilling vision of the towering and treacherous mountain landscape. Its subject is the Devil’s Bridge in the Schöllenen Gorge, one of the most evocative features of the St. Gotthard Pass, which traverses some of Switzerland’s most breathtaking Alpine scenery. The pass’s winding paths and precarious bridges were a favorite subject for Romantic writers and artists. Turner was no exception: he made a point of sketching this scene while traveling the pass during his 1802 continental tour.

Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)

J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Picturesque and Sublime - Thomas Cole's Trans-Atlantic Inheritance (Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 2018-04-29 - 2018-11-04) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

J.M.W. Turner, R.A.: The Great Watercolors (Royal Academy of Arts, 2000-12-02 - 2001-02-18) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

The Art of Seeing - John Ruskin and the Victorian Eye (Phoenix Art Museum, 1993-03-06 - 1993-09-15) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

J. M. W. Turner (Musée du Louvre, 1983-10-14 - 1984-01-16) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Works of Splendor and Imagination - The Exhibition Watercolor 1770-1870 (Yale Center for British Art, 1981-09-16 - 1981-11-22) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Acquisitions : The First Decade 1977-1986 : Yale Center for British Art, , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1986, pp. 7, 31, no. 127, pl. 10, N590.2 .A7 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Timothy J. Barringer, Picturesque and sublime : Thomas Cole's trans-Atlantic inheritance, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2018, pp. 132-133, no. 22, NJ18 .C67 B37 2018 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Franny Moyle, Turner : The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner, Penguin Books, New York, 2016, p. 217, NJ18 T85 M79 2016 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Graham Reynolds, Turner, Thames & Hudson, London, 2020, fig. 38, NJ18.T85 R49 2020 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Duncan Robinson, Acquisitions : The First Decade 1977 - 1986, , Burlington Magazine, vol. 128, October 1986, pp. 7, 31, no. 127, pl. 10, N1 .B87 128:3 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Eric Shanes, The life and masterworks of J.M.W. Turner, Parkstone Press, New York, 2008, pp. 120-121, NJ18 T85 S441 2008 + OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Eric Shanes, Turner : the great watercolours, , Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2000, pp. 21, 88-89, no. 20, NJ18 T85 S446 2000 (YCBA) [YCBA]


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