J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > First Italian Tour 1819-20 > Naples, Paestum and Rome Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Four Sketches in the Plain of Paestum, Including Studies of Peasants 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Four Sketches in the Plain of Paestum, Including Studies of Peasants’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 18 Recto:
Four Sketches in the Plain of Paestum, Including Studies of Peasants 1819
D15942
Turner Bequest CLXXXVI 18
Pencil on white wove paper, 189 x 113 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘[?P]esto’ within second sketch from bottom
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in red ink ‘18’ top right and ‘245’ bottom left
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXVI 18’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As indicated by Turner’s handwritten inscription, these sketches represent views in the Plain of Paestum, between the Cilento mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea (for Paestum). Turner travelled to Paestum (‘Pesto’ is the modern Italian name) approximately twenty miles south-east of Salerno, in order to visit the site of three famous ancient temples, see folio 19 verso (D15945). For similar studies and a description of the route see folio 30 (D15966; Turner Bequest CLXXXVI 28).
A couple of the scenes feature figures in the foreground including a group of men and women carrying tools, and a man ploughing with a team of oxen. The shaky, uncertain appearance of the draughtsmanship suggests that the artist was drawing from a moving vehicle or vessel.

Nicola Moorby
July 2010

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Four Sketches in the Plain of Paestum, Including Studies of Peasants 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, July 2010, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-four-sketches-in-the-plain-of-paestum-including-studies-of-r1137866, accessed 19 September 2024.