J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > Venice, Austria and Southern Germany ... > Rotterdam to Venice Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Belluno and the Dolomites from the South, across the River Piave; a Rural Chapel Nearby 1840

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Belluno and the Dolomites from the South, across the River Piave; a Rural Chapel Nearby’ 1840
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 70 Recto:
Belluno and the Dolomites from the South, across the River Piave; a Rural Chapel Nearby 1840
D32399
Turner Bequest CCCXX 70
Pencil on white wove paper, 149 x 89 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘Road’ above left of centre, and ‘2’ towards bottom left, ascending vertically
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘70’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCCXX – 70’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
There are three drawings here, made with the page turned different ways and separated by pencil lines. At the top is a view north across the River Piave to Belluno and beyond to the Dolomites, with the cathedral’s campanile towards the left. This is one of a series of variants from this direction between folios 68 recto and 70 verso, and on folio 71 verso (D32395–D32400, D32402), the others being clear full-page horizontal sketches; to frame the view and emphasise the height and distance, Turner introduces repoussoir trees and the wayside shrine which still houses a statue of the Madonna and Child beside the Via Sanfor.
At right-angles below to the left is a continuation to the right of the more detailed horizontal view on folio 69 verso opposite (D32398), looking up the Piave Valley to the north-east. The other part is numbered ‘1’, and this is ‘2’.
The third drawing, with the page turned again, is an elevation of the unusual small chapel still standing not far east of the shrine. Seen from the east, it comprises the simple shed-like chapel itself to the right, with a small bell tower, and the tiled canopy supported by two columns spanning the lane, presumably to encourage passers-by to shelter from the elements in prayer; one appears to be kneeling in silhouette here.
For other views in and around Belluno on adjacent pages, see under folio 66 verso (D32392).

Matthew Imms
September 2018

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Belluno and the Dolomites from the South, across the River Piave; a Rural Chapel Nearby 1840 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2018, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2019, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-belluno-and-the-dolomites-from-the-south-across-the-river-r1196633, accessed 05 April 2026.