Ruskin met Turner in 1841 and became a major collector of Turner’s Swiss watercolors. In later years, when Ruskin found himself among the Swiss Alps, his mind always turned to Turner.

He was particularly “haunted by Turner’s memory” on his visit to Interlaken in June 1866. On June 11, in perfect weather, Ruskin began a three-day hike up the Lauterbrunnen valley. As he walked, the arena of snow-capped Bernese Oberland spread before him. He opened up his sketchbook and on two facing pages created this panoramic watercolor very much in the spirit and style of Turner’s Swiss watercolors.