On the road to Urbar (Günderodehaus), View of Oberwesel

This watercolour combines at least four different perspectives. Turner assembled them to form a single painting using his sketches for reference. The main view of the Rhine Valley originates from an elevated location, from the direction of Urbar. The view of the ruined tower behind the trees and parts of the foreground also depict impressions that Turner sketched while walking towards Urbar. The »Ox Tower« was inserted into the picture as a separate element. According to this view, the tower would have been over 100 metres high. Turner made these adjustments for reasons of compositional harmony. The work became widely known in 2007 when it was put up for auction at Sotheby’s for just under 4 million Euros. This is an unusually large-format watercolour in which the brush strokes of vibrant yellow and red convey shimmering heat.