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 > Pompeii, Amalfi, &c., Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sketches of a Decorated Doorway at Herculaneum 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sketches of a Decorated Doorway at Herculaneum’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 86 Verso:
Sketches of a Decorated Doorway at Herculaneum 1819
D15897
Turner Bequest CLXXXV 84 a
Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘[?Corridor]’ top right, and ‘X’ and ‘R’ within sketch of arch
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner’s sketches of the archaeological site at Herculaneum are very rough and schematic in nature, reflecting the fact that he was drawing in poorly lit, partially excavated spaces.1 Clearly visible in this study, however, is the outline of an arched doorway, decorated with ornamental, sculptural mouldings and pilasters. For a fuller description of the artist’s exploration of Herculaneum see folio 86 (D15896; Turner Bequest CLXXXV 84).

Nicola Moorby
November 2010

1
See Powell 1984, p.187, and Powell 1987, pp.82–3.

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Sketches of a Decorated Doorway at Herculaneum 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, November 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-sketches-of-a-decorated-doorway-at-herculaneum-r1138368, accessed 18 April 2024.