Joseph Mallord William Turner

Two Sketches of Castellamare di Stabia; and a View from Marina Grande, Sorrento

1819

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In Tate Britain

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Pompeii, Amalfi, &c., Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 113 × 189 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D15847
Turner Bequest CLXXXV 59

Catalogue entry

The sketches at the top left and top right of this page both depict views of Castellammare di Stabia on the Sorrentine peninsula. Visible in the right-hand study is the waterfront with the cathedral and castle, with distant Pozzano on the right. The scene on the left is part of a larger composition continued on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 59 verso (D15846; Turner Bequest CLXXXV 58a). For a fuller description and further sketches of Castellammare see folio 59 (D15845).
As Turner’s inscription ‘Sor’ indicates, the lower study depicts a view of Sorrento. To the right is the small fishing village of Marina Grande, whilst beyond are the succeeding headlands which characterise the rocky coastline.1 The artist has numbered the various elements of the composition. The point numbered ‘3’ is the Punta Scutolo below Montechiaro. Marina Grande can also be seen on folio 64 verso (D15856; Turner Bequest CLXXXV 63a).

Nicola Moorby
October 2010

1
Compare a watercolour by James Baker Pyne (1800–1879), Marina Grande, Sorrento 1858, see Victorian and British Impressionist Pictures, Christie’s, London, 17 November 2010, lot 27, reproduced in colour.

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