'The Summit of Vesuvius from Its Slopes; and Part of a View of the Gulf of Naples Seen from the Ascent', Joseph Mallord William Turner

Artwork details

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775‑1851)

Title

The Summit of Vesuvius from Its Slopes; and Part of a View of the Gulf of Naples Seen from the Ascent

From Gandolfo to Naples Sketchbook

Turner Bequest CLXXXIV

Date 1819

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensionssupport: 122 x 197 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

Reference

D15640

Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 42

View this artwork by appointment, at Tate Britain's Prints and Drawings Rooms

Turner's sketchbooks

View this artwork in the Gandolfo to Naples Sketchbook

Catalogue entry

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851

Folio 44 Recto:

The Summit of Vesuvius from Its Slopes; and Part of a View of the Gulf of Naples Seen from the Ascent 1819

D15640
Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 42

Pencil on white wove paper, 122 x 197 mm

Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘Ves’ bottom right of sketch parallel with right-hand edge
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in blue ink ‘281’ bottom right and ‘42’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXIV 42’ bottom right

Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

References

As Cecilia Powell first identified, Turner made a series of sketches of Naples and the surrounding landscape as seen from the ascent to the summit of Vesuvius, see folio 46 verso (D15645; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 44a).1 This page contains two separate studies associated with that expedition. The main sketch on the left is part of a view of the Bay and Gulf of Naples looking west/south-west from the heights of the volcano.2 The composition continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 43 verso (D15639; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 41a).

The drawing on the right-hand side of the sheet depicts a view of the conical-shaped summit of Vesuvius seen from the slopes beneath. A thin trail of smoke issues from the crater and Turner’s rough, on-the-spot draughtsmanship captures a sense of the difficult, rocky terrain.

Nicola Moorby
May 2010

Powell 1984, p.424.

For a similar view compare John ‘Warwick’ Smith (1749–1831), City of Naples from Vesuvius 1778–9 (Tate, T08509).

Read this catalogue entry in full

This catalogue entry is part of: David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, December 2012.