Turner always surprises me. When I think I have seen all of his magic, I find something new to swoon over. That is what happened when I discovered the Alnwick Castle watercolor painting.
The scene is shimmering in blues: gray-blues and light blues, moonlighted blues and hex blues, unearthly blues and hoary blues. The castle on the hilltop with its castellated walls and stone figures is a heavenly vision. The river Aln reflects the castle’s image and something else.
I am not sure and I did not find any notes on it, but I see a figure under the third arch of the bridge: a bearded man in a long cape. It is possible that I am wrong and what I see are just some brushstroke. Maybe what happened to me is just a pareidolia, the phenomenon when one sees figures in unusual forms like clouds or marble markings.
The specter figure is almost as high as the arch and unless there is an islet in the river, he is levitating on the water surface. Such things can happen around thousand year-old castles like Alnwick.
I cannot leave the painting until I solve its secret. Will I ever do so? Thank you, Master Turner.
