View of Berncastle on the Moselle

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

The River Moselle is a tributary of the Rhine, which flows through north eastern France, Luxembourg and western Germany. Berncastle (Bernkastel-Kues) is a small town on the river. This watercolour is dominated by the extraordinary tower of the partly 14th-century Church of St Michael in the town, which still stands today. The tower is ringed by a crown of turrets and was originally part the town's fortifications.

Artist William Oliver exhibited 'At Berncastle on the Moselle (dimensions: 1'9 x 1'10) at the British Institution in 1852 and 'Near Berncastle on the Moselle' (watercolour, £10.10s) at the Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, in 1858. He also exhibited 'View on the river Moselle near Pommera' at the Royal Academy in 1853. Further examples of his watercolours showing views on the River Moselle have passed through Christie's, London, in 1975 and 1977, and through Sotheby's, London, in 1979 and 1981.

Places

River Moselle, Germany, Bernkastel-Kues: St. Michael's Church, Bernkastel-Kues

Subjects

wheelbarrow, topography, townscape/cityscape, river bank, river, hill, man, woman, child, house

Materials & Techniques

paper (as artists material), watercolour (as artists materials), pencil, watercolour (as object name)

Artist

William Oliver (1804 - 1853)

Title

View of Berncastle on the Moselle

Date

1851

Medium

Watercolour on paper

Dimensions

height: 34.40 cm, width: 49.60 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Appleby Bros, March 1975

Inscription

br: Berncastle Moselle. / [MGM] W Oliver 1851

Provenance

With Appleby Bros., London; from whom purchased by the Department of the Environment in March 1975

GAC number

11846