The Lake of Zug

The Lake of Zug by Joseph Mallord William Turner: Marquand Fund, 1959

What to notice

Let the pale lake and sky merge before locating boats, shoreline, and distant mountains; watercolor washes make solid geography appear suspended in light.

Discover

Turner made The Lake of Zug in 1843 using watercolor, bodycolor, graphite, and reductive techniques. Pale washes merge lake and sky while small boats and distant mountains hold the Swiss view together through minimal contrasts.