Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Temple of Vesta at Tivoli; the Tomb of the Plautii from Ponte Lucano; and ?A View of Tivoli

1819

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Tivoli to Rome Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 186 x 112 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D14934
Turner Bequest CLXXIX 1 a

Catalogue entry

There are three separate sketches on this page, all of which relate to Turner’s trip to Tivoli in the autumn of 1819.
The study at the top represents the so-called Temple of Vesta, a famous classical ruin synonymous with Tivoli. The remains of this circular, peripteral structure stand at the edge of the gorge on the northern side of the town popularly known as the Valle d’Inferno (Valley of Hell). Turner studied the monument from various angles and also repeatedly depicted it in relation to its surroundings. This drawing shows the most ruined half of the temple looking towards the inner cella, or inner chamber. For a full discussion of the Temple and a complete list of sketches see folio 3 verso (D14938).
As Turner’s inscription indicates, the central sketch depicts the Tomb of the Plautius family (or Tomb of the Plautii), a cylindrical first-century funerary monument of Travertine stone, which stands on the Via Valeria, approximately two miles west of Tivoli. When travelling on the road from Rome to Tivoli it was one of the first sights to relieve the featureless plain of the Campagna, and, in conjunction with the adjacent Ponte Lucano, it represented a popular subject for artists. Turner himself made over twenty variant studies during his visit to Tivoli, see folio 27 verso (D14975). The twenty-mile journey would have been covered by carriage. However, the large number of sketches of the bridge and Plautian tomb indicates that Turner was afforded enough time to fully explore the site from a number of different angles, on foot, as well as from the road. He also transcribed the Roman inscription commemorating the construction of Ponte Lucano which he found on a tomb near the Plautian sepulchre, see folio 1 (D14933). Turner would already have been very familiar with the picturesque properties of the site. As a young man, he had copied a watercolour of the tomb from the collection of his patron, Dr Thomas Monro (see Dr Monro’s Album of Italian Views, Tate D36419; Turner Bequest CCCLXXIII 6). Furthermore, he had also made a thumbnail copy of the relevant plate from John ‘Warwick’ Smith’s Select Views in Italy (1792–9), in the Italian Guide Book Sketchbook (see Tate D13966; Turner Bequest CLXXII 19, third from bottom left).

Nicola Moorby
December 2009

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ponte San Rocco, Tivoli, looking towards the So-Called Temple of Vesta’ 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of Tivoli looking towards Ponte San Rocco and the So-Called Temple of Vesta’ 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of Tivoli looking towards the Ponte San Rocco and So-Called Temple of Vesta’ 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of Tivoli, with the So-Called Temple of Vesta’ 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ponte San Rocco, Tivoli, looking towards the So-Called Temple of Vesta’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ponte San Rocco, Tivoli, looking towards the So-Called Temple of Vesta

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View by appointment D15006
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of Tivoli with the So-Called Temple of Vesta and Temple of the Sibyl’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View of Tivoli with the So-Called Temple of Vesta and Temple of the Sibyl

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The So-Called Temple of Vesta, Tivoli’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner The So-Called Temple of Vesta, Tivoli

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View by appointment D15517
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Architectural and Decorative Details from the So-Called Temple of Vesta, Tivoli’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Architectural and Decorative Details from the So-Called Temple of Vesta, Tivoli

1819
View by appointment D15515
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Two Sketches of the Tomb of the Plautii, near Tivoli’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Two Sketches of the Tomb of the Plautii, near Tivoli

1819
View by appointment D14982