Joseph Mallord William Turner

Part of a View of the Bay of Baiae from the Punta dell’Epitaffio

1819

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Not on display

Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Gandolfo to Naples Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 122 × 197 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D15726
Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 84 a

Catalogue entry

Turner made several sketches of the picturesque Bay of Baiae, an ancient Roman bathing resort situated on the coast approximately ten miles west of Naples. This study is part of a panoramic view taken from near the Punta dell’Epitaffio, a rocky outcrop on the coast near Lake Lucrino. The composition continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 87 (D15727; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 85), but this side shows the vista looking south-east towards the Castello di Baia (Castle of Baiae), a former Aragonese fortress built to defend the Gulf of Pozzuoli. Also visible beside the shoreline to the right is the so-called Temple of Venus, one of a number of ancient thermal bath-houses to be found within the area.
Similar views can be found on folios 86, 88 and 89 (D15725, D15729 and D15731; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 84, 86 and 87).

Nicola Moorby
June 2010

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