'View of the Porta Ercolano, Pompeii, with the Tomb of Mamia on the Via dei Sepolcri', Joseph Mallord William Turner

Artwork details

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775‑1851)

Title

View of the Porta Ercolano, Pompeii, with the Tomb of Mamia on the Via dei Sepolcri

From Pompeii, Amalfi, &c., Sketchbook

Turner Bequest CLXXXV

Date 1819

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensionssupport: 113 x 189 mm

Collection

Tate

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

Reference

D15754

Turner Bequest CLXXXV 9 a

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

Turner's sketchbooks

View this artwork in the Pompeii, Amalfi, &c., Sketchbook

Catalogue entry

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851

Folio 9 Verso:

View of the Porta Ercolano, Pompeii, with the Tomb of Mamia on the Via dei Sepolcri 1819

D15754
Turner Bequest CLXXXV 9 a

Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm

Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

References

Despite the rough nature of this sketch the subject can clearly be identified as a view of the Via dei Sepolcri (Street of the Tombs) in Pompeii. Turner’s viewpoint is at the top of the street with the Porta Ercolano (Herculaneum Gate) on the left, looking south towards the Tomb of Mamia and other ruins. In the distance are the rugged peaks of Monte Faito, part of the Sorrentine peninsula.

For further sketches of the Via dei Sepolcri see folios 5–8, 9, 10 (D15747–D15751, D15753, D15755). For a general discussion of Turner’s visit to Pompeii see the introduction to the sketchbook.

Nicola Moorby
September 2010

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.