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

This page contains two views of unrelated locations which can be identified thanks to Turner’s accompanying inscriptions. At the top is a distant view of the island of Ischia near the westernmost tip of the Gulf of Naples, whilst at the bottom is a distant view of the town of Genzano di Roma, on the shores of Lake Nemi to the south of Rome. The latter vista must have been drawn on the return leg of the artist’s trip to Naples. Turner has made extensive notes concerning the appearance and colours of the landscape, and in addition has annotated the view of Genzano with the name of the eighteenth-century painter, Richard Wilson (1713–1782). The works of the Welsh master represented some of Turner’s earliest exposure to Italian landscapes and an oil of Lake Nemi in the style of Wilson was part of his personal art collection and probably hung in his gallery at Queen Anne Street (see Tate N05565).

In the top right-hand corner of the sheet are a couple of rough figure studies depicting the costume of an Italian contadina, or peasant woman. Further sketches can be seen on the inside back cover (D40951).