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, beyond the Ponte Vecchio on the River Piave, towards Sunset 1840

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Belluno and the Dolomites from the South, beyond the Ponte Vecchio on the River Piave, towards Sunset’ 1840
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 69 Verso:
Belluno and the Dolomites from the South, beyond the Ponte Vecchio on the River Piave, towards Sunset 1840
D32398
Turner Bequest CCCXX 69a
Pencil on white wove paper, 89 x 149 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘1’ towards bottom left
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned horizontally, this laterally compressed view is north across the River Piave to Belluno and beyond to the Dolomites, with the cathedral’s campanile towards the left above cliffs since partly softened by later buildings and trees. Only a single arch of the Ponte Vecchio, shown towards the bottom left, now survives above the far bank; the viewpoint was likely the lane winding up from the Via Vincenzo Lante to the Via Sanfor, now lined by trees which impede a clear view. The sun is sinking over the mountains to the left; compare the notes of sunset effects on folio 71 recto (D32401).
This is one of a series of variant views from this direction between folios 68 recto and 70 verso, and on folio 71 verso (D32395–D32400, D32402). Turner’s ‘1’ is followed by ‘2’ on folio 70 recto opposite (D32399), where the view is continued to the right. 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, beyond the Ponte Vecchio on the River Piave, towards Sunset 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-beyond-the-ponte-r1196632, accessed 05 August 2025.