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 > Remarks (Italy) Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner View of a Distant Town or City, ?France 1820

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of a Distant Town or City, ?France’ 1820
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 100 Verso:
View of a Distant Town or City, ?France 1820
D16877
Turner Bequest CXCIII 99 a
Pencil on white wove paper, 94 x 115 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This rough sketch appears to depict the silhouette of a distant city or town. It is probably related to Turner’s return journey through France from Italy in January 1820. The hasty, schematic nature of the draughtsmanship suggests that the artist was working from a moving vehicle whilst on the road.

Nicola Moorby
March 2011

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘View of a Distant Town or City, ?France 1820 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2011, 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-view-of-a-distant-town-or-city-france-r1138652, accessed 26 April 2024.