About this artwork
The moon is shown as a small but intense semi circle of light emerging from cloud above the falls and reflected in the waters below. Turner applied a light tonal wash before working up the composition in colour. He used pen to suggest the wooded character of the steep banks and included a little more architecture than in other views of the Falls. Cooler tones dominate, appropriate for the moonlit scene. It is inscribed at the bottom left: Falls of the Rhine / 1841.
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title:Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, Moonlight
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accession number:D NG 869
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artist:
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object type:
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subject:
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materials:Watercolour, bodycolour, pen and ink details and scraping on paper
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date created:1841
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measurements:22.90 x 28.50 cm
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credit line:Henry Vaughan Bequest 1900
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photographer:Antonia Reeve
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Turner transformed the art of landscape painting in Britain. From detailed topographical studies to expansive, atmospheric vistas his works celebrate the diversity and emotive power of nature. He was born in Covent Garden, the son of a barber, and exhibited his earliest sketches in his father's shop before studying at…