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

At Terni, Turner made a short detour from his route in order to visit the nearby Falls, one of the main highlights of the journey between Ancona and Rome. An entirely man-made phenomenon, this impressive waterfall was created by the ancient Romans who diverted the course of the River Velino so that the waters descended into the Nera valley below in three successive stages. The whiteness of the resulting spray led to the popular appellation the ‘Cascata’ or ‘Caduta delle Marmore’ (Falls of Marble). During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the waterfall represented one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy outside of Rome. ¹ For a full discussion see folio 55 verso (D14760).

This sketch depicts the first and longest stage of the waterfall where the waters cascade over the edge of the summit in a sheer, straight drop. Turner’s viewpoint was the Belvedere Superiore, a small stone hut built by Pope Pius VI to shelter tourists who wished to witness the exciting spectacle of the falls whilst protected from the elements. This structure, which still exists today, stands on a rocky outcrop near the top of the summit, almost level with the brink. It can be seen in another sketch, see folio 51 (D14752). Turner has used the sketchbook vertically in order to capture an impression of the dramatic height of the spectacle and he has indicated the force and spray of the rushing water sparingly with bold hatched lines and large areas of blank white paper.
A further sketch can be found on folio 53 (D14756).