Riverside path along the Rhine, Near “Königsbacher”, with a view of Burg Stolzenfels

On 23rd August 1817 Turner leaves Koblenz and walks upstream along the left bank of the Rhine.  Shortly before reaching Stolzenfels Castle he stops to make the sketch for this watercolour.  The painting shows the mouth of the river which lies ahead of him (in the middle of the picture), framed by rocky scenery on both sides of the river.  On the right of the picture the dark silhouette of Stolzenfels Castle rises against the hillside.  It is notable that Turner places the mouth of the River Lahn on the wrong side of the Rhine.  Whether this was for compositional reasons, or whether it was a mistake on Turner’s part remains obscure.  Only a few hundred metres further on Turner takes the ferry across to Lahnstein.  Today Stolzenfels Castle is owned by the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate and is open to the public.