Joseph Mallord William Turner

View of Ponte Molle and the River Tiber, Rome, from Monte Mario

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
Rome: Colour Studies Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 229 x 368 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D16391
Turner Bequest CLXXXIX 60

Catalogue entry

Some of the most famous panoramas of Rome could be seen from the heights of Monte Mario, a hill to the north of the city. John Chetwode Eustace, author of A Classical Tour in Italy described the view from the Villa Mellini (now the Rome Observatory) on the summit of the hill:
The Tiber intersecting the city and winding through rich meadows; the Prata Quintia and Prata Mutia, fields still bearing their names, the trophies of Roman virtue and Roman heroism; the Pons Milvius with its tower, and the plains consecrated by the victory of Constantine; the Vatican Palace with its courts and gardens; the Basilica of St Peter with its portico, its obelisk, and its fountains, the Campus Martius covered with the churches, squares and palaces of the modern city; the seven hills strewed with ruins of the ancient; the walls with their towers and galleries; the desert Campagna, with Mount Soracte rising apparently in the centre; and the semi-circular sweep of mountains tinged with blue or purple, now bright with the sun, now dark in the shade, and generally gleaming with snow – such is the varied and magnificent scene spread out before the traveller, while reposing on the shaded terrace of Villa Mellini.1
This composition encompasses a sweep of approximately ninety degrees with the central focus being the dramatic ox-bow curve of the River Tiber in the foreground. As Finberg first identified, the bridge on the left is the Ponte Molle, also known as the Ponte Milvio. This crossing carried the Via Flaminia across the Tiber into Rome and hence was the entry and exit point for British tourists to and from the city during the nineteenth century. Famous as the site of the deciding battle between Emperors Constantine and Maxentius in 312 AD, the bridge is recognisable from the four central arches spanning the river (there were also two smaller arches at either end not clearly visible from a distance) and an entrance tower on the northern end (left) which had been rebuilt in 1805.2 The building visible on the far right-hand side meanwhile is the Villa Madama, a sixteenth-century estate built for the Medici family on the eastern slopes, famous for its garden loggia designed by Raphael.3 Like many pages within this sketchbook, the drawing has been executed over a washed grey background. Turner has created areas of pale highlights by lifting or rubbing through to the white paper beneath, principally to delineate the twisting course of the river.
1
John Chetwode Eustace, A Classical Tour of Italy, London 1815, 3rd edition, vol.II, p.203.
2
For a detailed sketch of the bridge prior to 1805 see William Marlow (1740–1813), Ponte Molle, pencil on paper, Tate T09173.
3
Finberg 1909, p.564.
4
Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984, no.318.
5
Tony Cubberley and Luke Herrmann, Twilight of the Grand Tour: A catalogue of the drawings by James Hakewill in the British School at Rome Library, Rome 1992, p.185. no.3.4, reproduced.

Nicola Moorby
July 2009

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View from Monte Mario, Rome, with the Ponte Molle and the River Tiber

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of Ponte Molle and the River Tiber, Rome, from Villa Madama on Monte Mario’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View of Ponte Molle and the River Tiber, Rome, from Villa Madama on Monte Mario

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Tiber and the Ponte Molle, Rome, from the Villa Madama on Monte Mario’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Tiber and the Ponte Molle, Rome, from the Villa Madama on Monte Mario

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ponte Molle, Rome, with St Peter’s and Monte Mario in the Distance’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ponte Molle, Rome, with St Peter’s and Monte Mario in the Distance

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of the River Tiber, North of Rome, with Ponte Molle’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View of the River Tiber, North of Rome, with Ponte Molle

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of Monte Mario and the Ponte Molle, Rome, and a Sketch of the Villa Mellini’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner View of Monte Mario and the Ponte Molle, Rome, and a Sketch of the Villa Mellini

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The River Tiber Looking towards the Ponte Molle, Rome’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner The River Tiber Looking towards the Ponte Molle, Rome

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ponte Molle, Rome’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ponte Molle, Rome

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Ponte Molle, Rome’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Ponte Molle, Rome

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Roman Campagna with the River Tiber and Ponte Molle in the Distance’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Roman Campagna with the River Tiber and Ponte Molle in the Distance

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The River Tiber, Rome, with the Ponte Molle, the Fontana dell’Acqua Acetosa and a Distant View of St Peter’s’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner The River Tiber, Rome, with the Ponte Molle, the Fontana dell’Acqua Acetosa and a Distant View of St Peter’s

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Distant View of Rome from the Ponte Molle’ 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner Distant View of Rome from the Ponte Molle

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