Turner made several tours along the three great rivers of northern Europe, the Rhine, Meuse and Mosel. This watercolour dates from his second journey following the Mosel in the late summer of 1839. He filled five sketchbooks and produced a series of studies like this, in rich colours on blue paper. Turner shows the curve of the river before it flows beneath a bridge to meet the Rhine. The massive fortress of Ehrenbreitstein stands on the hillside above, depicted in fierce yellow.