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 > Turin, Como, Lugarno, Maggiore ... > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Duomo, Turin, from Piazza San Giovanni 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Duomo, Turin, from Piazza San Giovanni’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 31 Recto:
The Duomo, Turin, from Piazza San Giovanni 1819
D14204
Turner Bequest CLXXIV 30
Pencil on white wove paper, 111 x 186 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘[?F...]’ and ‘X’ within sketch on left ‘[?Carters] | [...] | [?Purple] on’ bottom right
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘30’ top right and ‘284’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLXXIV 30’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The subject of this sketch is a view of the Duomo (Cathedral) of Turin from Piazza San Giovanni. Turner’s viewpoint is the south-west corner of the piazza, standing beneath the historic porticoed arcades which once lined the square in front of the cathedral. These buildings were destroyed during the Second World War and the area is now principally the intersection of present-day Via XX Settembre and Via IV Marzo. The silhouette of the cathedral is only roughly indicated and has been left as a faint outline, although Turner has added a greater level of detail on the adjacent campanile and the surrounding buildings. However, the main focus of the drawing is in fact the bustle of human activity which is taking place in the foreground beneath the arches of the arcades. This appears to include a market with figures selling baskets and other wares.
For a more detailed sketch of the cathedral see folio 29 (D14200; Turner Bequest CLXXIV 28) while for a list of further sketches of Turin see folio 12 (D14166; Turner Bequest CLXXIV 11).

Nicola Moorby
December 2012

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘The Duomo, Turin, from Piazza San Giovanni 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, December 2012, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2013, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-duomo-turin-from-piazza-san-giovanni-r1142725, accessed 20 April 2024.