Footpath just before Kaub (heading towards Bingen), view of the Pfalz

This view of the "Pfalz near Kaub" was first seen by Turner on his return journey from Mainz to Cologne on August 27, 1817. From the ship, he sketched the former customs castle on the small river island with the Gutenfels Castle on the right hill. The many drawings that Turner had already made during his walk show his fascination with this extraordinary building. In this motif, he combines several pencil sketches into a cheerful overall composition. It is one of the few castle complexes in the Middle Rhine Valley that was not destroyed by the Napoleonic army. The Pfalzgrafenstein is today owned by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and can be visited.