Joseph Mallord William Turner

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, Turner’s drawing was made on the Grand Canal, at the bend just east of the Rialto Bridge, looking north-west. The Palazzo dei Camerlenghi is on the left, with the arcades of the Fabbriche Vecchie and Fabbriche Nuove fronting the waterside Campo Erberia (vegetable market) receding on the right. The drawing on folio 75 verso (D14459) is from about the same viewpoint, but with the Erberia on the left and the opposite side of the canal shown to the right. Compare also a view including the bridge to the left in the contemporary Venice to Ancona sketchbook (Tate D14512; Turner Bequest CLXXVI 13).

The other way up towards the gutter at the top left is the Procuratie Vecchie range along the north side of the Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square), running on from the full-page view on folio 44 recto opposite (D14397). The note ‘Green | V B’ applied to this continuation.

For other drawings made in the vicinity and an overview of Turner’s coverage of Venice, see the sketchbook’s Introduction.