Joseph Mallord William Turner

This page contains part of a panoramic view from the Palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill looking south-west towards the Aventine Hill and the Janiculum Hill. The ruins in the foreground represent part of the substructures of Emperor Septimius Severus. In the distance can be seen, from left to right: the Church of Santa Sabina on the Aventine; the high ridge of the Janiculum Hill crowned by trees; and on the far right-hand side, the dome of St Peter’s. The composition continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 16 verso (D16418; Turner Bequest CXC 16a). Related views can be found in the Albano, Nemi, Rome sketchbook (see Tate D15392–D15393 and D15440–D15441; Turner Bequest CLXXXII 50a–1 and 74a–5). The panorama is also similar to that in a drawing by James Hakewill, Rome, Ruins of the Palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill, later published in a series called Eight Views of Rome, 1823.1

Like many drawings within this sketchbook, the composition has been executed over a washed grey background and Turner has created areas of pale highlights by rubbing or lifting through to the white paper beneath.

Verso:
Blank except for traces of grey watercolour.