Joseph Mallord William Turner

Part of a View of Florence from Villa Palmieri, Fiesole

1819

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Rome and Florence Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 113 × 189 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D16616
Turner Bequest CXCI 78

Catalogue entry

As Turner’s inscription in the bottom left-hand corner indicates, the viewpoint for this panoramic sketch of Florence and the surrounding countryside is the Villa Palmieri in Fiesole. The artist appears to be standing in or near the south-facing terraced gardens looking along the winding course of the River Mugnone towards the city. The composition continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 77 verso (D16615), but visible on this side is the hill of Fiesole (left) and silhouetted along the horizon, the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio in the centre of Florence (right).
Further sketches from Fiesole can be found on folios 30 verso, 31, 74–77, 78 verso–79 verso, 84 (D16542, D16543, D16608–D16614, D16617–D16619, D16627).

Nicola Moorby
February 2011

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