Joseph Mallord William Turner

Along the left-hand edge there is evidence that this off-white sheet of wove paper, flecked with black, was originally part of a sketchbook. The sheet has been roughly cut from the book and at the bottom of the edge a hole is visible where the sheet was attached to the binding. Further up two nicks in the paper indicate where other binding holes were.

This drawing is linear in style and contains none of the hatched shading common to many of Turner’s later sketches. Careful attention has been given to the architectural details of the mausoleum. A single graphite pencil has been used to create this composition but Turner has applied greater pressure when drawing the foreground, making the lines in this area much heavier and darker. The background, by comparison, is more lightly drawn. This technique was often used by Turner to create the illusion of depth and distance in his sketches.