Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Bay of Naples from Capodimonte 1819
Pencil on white wove paper, 255 x 403 mm
Inscribed by an unknown hand in pencil ‘CLXXXVII . 22’ top right, inverted
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXVII 22’ and Turner Bequest monogram top right, inverted
This panoramic view represents the Bay of Naples seen from Capodimonte, a hill to the north of the city dominated by an eighteenth-century royal palace (the Reggia di Capodimonte), built for the Bourbon King, Charles III. Turner has depicted the 180-degree vista from Vesuvius in the east (left) to the hill rising in the west (right), topped by the fortress of Castel Sant’Elmo and the Certosa (Charterhouse) of San Martino. The rest of the city is briefly indicated in the centre with the island of Capri and the Sorrentine peninsula silhouetted against the horizon.
Further sketches of the city from Capodimonte can be seen on the recto and on folio 23 (D16110, D16111).
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856