Joseph Mallord William Turner

This page contains two on-the-spot sketches associated with Turner’s exploration of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean or Burning Fields) to the west of Naples. The uppermost study depicts a view of the Bay of Pozzuoli looking south-west from a point above the valley beneath the hill of Posillipo (near present day Via Caravaggio in Fuorigrotta). On the left-hand side is the Capo di Posillipo and the island of Nisida, whilst to the centre and right beyond are the islands of Ischia, Procida and Cape Misenum (Capo Miseno). Related vistas can be seen on folio 57 verso (D15667; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 55a) and in the Naples: Rome C. Studies sketchbook (Tate D16105; Turner Bequest CLXXXVII 17).

The lower prospect is a view of the island of Capri and the Sorrentine peninsula seen from a coastal town within the Bay of Pozzuoli, possibly the port of Pozzuoli itself.