Châtel Argent, a ruined 11th-century castle, stands in a dramatic location above the town of Villeneuve, in the Aosta valley. Turner produced three watercolour studies of the castle from different vantage points on his 1836 tour of the Alps. He probably sketched this view directly from nature, as it does not directly correspond to any of his sketchbook drawings. Turner used variations in texture to represent the effects of light on the landscape, rubbing and scraping the paper to create reflections and highlights.