Joseph Mallord William Turner

This sketch depicts part of panoramic view of Tivoli from the river valley to the north. Turner’s viewpoint appears to be a position on the road leading down the hill from the so-called Tempio della Tosse towards the river below. The drawing continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 45 verso (D15011), but visible on this side is the winding course of the river and the surrounding Tiburtine hills. In the bottom left-hand corner is the Ponte dell’Acquoria (Bridge of the Golden Water), a Roman crossing which carried the ancient Via Tiburtina over the River Aniene. As Turner’s sketch shows, the bridge was comprised of a single surviving stone arch with a temporary wooden structure crossing the remaining piers.1 The area is now dominated by an electrical power plant.

An alternative study of the bridge can be seen on folio 59 verso (D15037), whilst more detailed drawings of the view can be found in the Tivoli sketchbook (see Tate D15472, D15482, D15487, D15493, D15508, D15509; Turner Bequest CLXXXIII 6, 16, 21, 26, 41, 41a).