Lausanne and Lake Geneva, from the West
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: 1841
- Medium: Graphite, watercolour and pen on paper
- Dimensions: support: 236 x 334 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Lausanne and Lake Geneva, from the West” by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Turner tackled this scene in 1841 while he was touring Switzerland for the third time. At that point he was in his mid‑sixties, yet his fascination with the Alpine landscape and the vast, tranquil waters of Lake Geneva was as fresh as ever. He used graphite for the crisp outlines, a touch of watercolour to capture the shimmering lake, and pen to add fine details—all on a modest 236 × 334 mm sheet of paper.
The sketch belongs to what’s called the Lausanne Sketchbook, a collection of quick studies Turner made while perched on the steep slopes overlooking the lake. In these studies he was chasing the “Sublime” – the awe‑inducing power of nature that had become a hot topic for artists and poets since the 1770s. Lausanne, with its dramatic hills and serene water, was one of his favorite subjects during that period.
This work, now part of the Turner Bequest, gives us a glimpse into how Turner captured the fleeting light and mood of the Swiss landscape, translating the grandeur of nature into a delicate, almost impressionistic drawing.
See it in person
Lausanne and Lake Geneva, from the West is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
