Joseph Mallord William Turner

As Cecilia Powell first correctly identified, Turner’s viewpoint for this sketch of Florence was the Monte alle Croci, a hill to the south-east of the River Arno upon which sit the Churches of San Miniato al Monte and San Salvatore al Monte.1 This has always been a favoured spot for panoramic views across the city, and during the later nineteenth century it was transformed by the construction of the Piazzale Michelangelo. The composition continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 64 (D16593), but visible on this side, from left to right, are: the Forte Belvedere and part of the medieval city walls; the Ponte Vecchio; and the river façade of the Uffizi Gallery. Related sketches can be found on folios 51–52, 62 verso–63, 64 verso, 65 verso (D16571–D16573, D16590–D16591, D16594, D16596).

The vista is very similar to Turner’s earlier watercolour, Florence from the Chiesa al Monte circa 1818 (private collection),2 engraved and published in James Hakewill’s Picturesque Tour of Italy, 1820.3 The artist revisited the theme in 1827–8 when he manipulated the topography to produce four watercolour versions of a view called Florence, from San Miniato.4 In fact, as Powell has discussed, it is not possible to see the Arno and its bridges from the Church of San Miniato, and the more likely location is a position near San Salvatore al Monte. Turner has further altered the scene by placing the viewer above an imaginary terrace directly overlooking the exaggerated sweep of the river.5