Joseph Mallord William Turner

Just outside of Tivoli is the celebrated archaeological site of the Villa Adriana, a second-century palace and garden complex built for the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Turner’s made a brief visit to the villa, making several swift studies of the key buildings of interest, see folio 32 verso (D14985). Cecilia Powell first correctly identified the subjects of the three sketches on this page.1 Both vistas are depicted looking in different directions from the same viewpoint. The drawing at the top of the page represents the back of the Hall of the Philosophers on the left, with the tall ruins of the Greek Library (Biblioteca Greca, actually a guest hall) on the right. The two structures are connected by the outer wall of the so-called Maritime Theatre. Meanwhile, the two sketches at the bottom of the page depict the Baths with Heliocaminus, a circular heated room covered with a domed roof.

Alternative views of the Greek Library can be found on folios 35 and 36 (D14990 and D14992), whilst the interior of the Hall of the Philosophers can be seen on folio 34 verso (D14989).