Joseph Mallord William Turner

A sketch of the Casino di Raffaello near the gardens of the Villa Borghese, see folio 44 verso (D16233; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 43a). Turner’s viewpoint depicts a characteristic view of the Casino, the eastern façade with the arched loggia of the ground floor and St Peter’s in the background on the right.1 On the left-hand side of the building, in between the outer wall and the trees, is a small mark which probably represents one of the two towers of the Villa Medici. For some reason, the artist did not fully sketch in the rest of the building. The view continues on part of an underlying sheet within the sketchbook, see folio 46 (D16236; Turner Bequest 45). Turner has half-folded the page back in order to extend the breath of the view onto the paper beneath.

The Casino di Raffaello was a popular subject for artists during the nineteenth century. Similar views to Turner’s depiction include drawings by Raymond Balze (1818–1909), Casino de Raphael (Louvre, Paris),2 Charles Joseph Lecointe (1824–86), Veduta della Casina di Raffaello a Villa Borghese (Palazzo Chigi, Ariccia),3 two unattributed paintings in the collection of the Villa Borghese,4 and another dating from c.1814 in the Museo di Roma.5