Image: Villa Vauban, Luxembourg
Villa Vauban in Luxembourg will host a lecture on September 25 examining the visits to the region by the English painters William Pars and J.M.W. Turner. The Luxembourgish-language conference, titled ‘Mam William Pars zu Igel (1774) a mam J.M.W. Turner an der Festung Lëtzebuerg (1824 & 1839)’, will be given by cultural historian Jean-Claude Muller.
The event will focus on two episodes separated by five decades. In 1774, William Pars visited the Igeler Säule, or Igel Column, together with the father of the future British prime minister Lord Palmerston. At the time, the monument at Igel was considered part of Luxembourg, according to the museum’s event description.
Pars is identified on the event page as William Pars (1742–1782), and an accompanying image caption names his work ‘A Roman Monument at Igel in the Dutchy of Luxemburg, 1770’. The watercolour and ink work on paper is credited to Tate. The source material does not state whether the work will be displayed during the lecture.
Turner’s first recorded passage through Luxembourg discussed by the museum took place in 1824, when the artist visited the city’s fortress. During his time on site, Turner made pencil drawings in a small sketchbook. The event description says he worked discreetly so as not to attract suspicion that he might be a spy.
The lecture will also address Turner’s second visit to Luxembourg, in 1839. After returning to London, he developed watercolours on blue paper in his studio, with the intention that they would be engraved for a high-quality travel guide. The museum says that Turner was able to draw on the experience of his later Luxembourg visit for this project. It also links the 1839 journey to the greater security of Luxembourg’s independence following the Treaty of London.
The conference begins at 6 p.m. on September 25 at Villa Vauban and is scheduled to last 90 minutes. It will be conducted in Luxembourgish, has a maximum capacity of 40 participants and is free of charge. Advance reservation is required through the museum’s visitor service at +352 4796 4900 or visites@2musees.vdl.lu. Villa Vauban is located at 18 avenue Émile Reuter, L-2420 Luxembourg.
