Just before Cochem sits Beilstein, a hike ( or a cruise ) of just 7 km from the former.
JMW Turner - de passage in 1824 - appreciated this small town with its fortress up on the hill, as his multiple sketches proves. Little has changed here in two centuries. I was happy to make just one or two sketches - for later etchings - before moving on a little further downstream...
Beilstein, etching no.2
7 x 7 cm
finished with white highlights
Onto Cochem, another important jewel in the Mosel crown. After the Celts, the Romans. Obviously a great destination for both beer and wine ! And now more than 1.5 million tourists visit the small but imposing town of Cochem every year. Imposing, due to the fairytale-like château of Reichsburg, which has not changed in appearance since Turner's time but has undergone multiple facelifts in the more distant past ; first built around the year 1000 ( the settlement of Cochem dates from around 900 ) it was completely destroyed in 1689, but rose again above the town in the 19th century in its distinct neo-gothique style. Its silhouette is majestic, and while Turner produced over a couple of years multiple works depiciting the château, l was inspired through my two visits ( once in the fog, very...romantisch ! ) to have made more than a dozen sketches, watercolours, etchings, monoprints, and more recently one or two paintings.
Some examples , firstly from my main Mosel(le) sketchbook. Included are distant views of Cochem and the historic Enderttor which Turner sketched and painted and nextdoor to where - exactly 200 years ago ( 1824 ) he first stayed the night. On subsequent trips through Germany he would always make a stop-over here...
Reichsburg, Cochem
Etchings ( light and dark ) 7 x 7 cm
Below : Reichsburg on the Mosel from the west.
Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm
Above : two monoprints ( A4 )
Above: 2 watercolours ( Cochem and the Reichsburg seen from the south and from the north )
each 40 x 30 cm
Below : watercolour with pastel, A4
Refreshed from an overnight stay, it was an early departure for the 'last stretch' of the Mosel ; destination Koblenz for midday. Of course, l didn't anticipate stopping four or five times to photograph and sketch on the final thirty or so miles !
Would l ever get to the confluence with the Rhine ? Yes, a little later than scheduled. And in fact, still in this bicentennary year ( 1824/ 2024 ) l got that far twice ...
W. late 2024
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