Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Triangular Forum in Pompeii is a piazza located at the southern edge of the city adjacent to the theatre area. This sketch depicts the ruins of a sacred round well at the southern end of the Forum which is surrounded by the remains of seven Doric columns which once formed a tholos (a circular building) over the structure.1 The adjacent objects represent fragments of various altars and tombs and dominating the background is the distant Lattari mountain of the Sorrentine peninsula. For alternative studies relating to the Triangular Forum see folio 16–16 verso, 24–24 verso, 26 verso (D15766–D15767, D15782–D15783, D15787). For further sketches and a general discussion of Turner’s visit to Pompeii see the introduction to the sketchbook.