Joseph Mallord William Turner

This sketch, inverted on the page, is part of a panoramic view of Rome from the tower of the Senatorial Palace on the Capitoline Hill.1 Turner made a complete record of the 360-degree view from the tower spread across four double-page spreads, see folios 74 verso–79 (D16293–D16300; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 74a–78). For a general discussion see folio 74 verso (D16293; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 74a).

The sketch depicts the Cordonata, the steps leading down from the Piazza del Campidoglio, flanked by the twin statues of the Dioscuri and the two palaces of the Capitoline Museums: the Palazzo dei Conservatori (left); and the Palazzo Nuovo (right). On the far right-hand side is part of the façade of the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. The panorama continues to the left on folio 76 verso (D16295; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 75a) and to the right on folio 77 (D16296; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 76).