Joseph Mallord William TURNER
English 1775-1851
A mountain scene, Val d'Aosta
c.1845
oil on canvas
91.5 x 122.0 cm
Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the Government of Victoria and donations from Associated Securities Limited, the Commonwealth Government (through the Australia Council), the National Gallery Society of Victoria, the National Art Collections Fund (Great Britain), The Potter Foundation and other organisations, the Myer family and the people of Victoria, 1973
E2-1973

This is one of a number of Turner's canvases dating from the 1840s in which the subject seems consumed in light. It has been suggested that this work is unfinished and it is unlikely that Turner would have exhibited it in his day without working on it further. The natural forces of light and air become the real subjects of these paintings and it matters little whether they are read as landscapes or seascapes. The prepared white ground adds a vivid luminosity.

Val d'Aosta is a mountain in Italian Alps, in the Piedmont region. Turner visited this area from 1840 to 1844 and he found the dramatic landscape and atmosphere inspiring.