Joseph Mallord William Turner

With the page turned horizontally, the view towards a low bridge shows the Rio del Palazzo, looking north from north of the Bridge of Sighs, with the heavy articulation and rustication of the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) loosely rendered on the left and the Ponte della Canonica beyond.

With the page inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, and at right angles to the other drawing, the view is south from about the same point, this time with the palace on the right and the elevated Bridge of Sighs1 linking it to the New Prisons on the left. There is a similar view in the contemporary Rotterdam to Venice sketchbook (Tate D32439; Turner Bequest CCCXX 90). Compare also the view from further away in the 1819 Milan to Venice sketchbook (Tate D14388; Turner Be quest CLXXV 39a).

For the Bridge of Sighs, see also see also folios 15 verso (where other views are noted), 16 recto, 17 recto and 57 recto (D31306–D31307, D31309, D31388). As noted in the sketchbook’s Introduction, the Venice views on its early pages are intermingled with German sketches from Turner’s return journey. This is the last of the main sequence of Venetian subjects here.