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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Genoa and Florence Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Rapallo 1828

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Rapallo’ 1828
Folio 34 Recto:
Rapallo, from the South-West 1828
D21478
Turner Bequest CCXXXIII 34
Pencil on white lined wove paper, 96 x 144 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Rap’ towards centre
Inscribed in red ink ‘34’ (smudged) top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXIII – 34’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The subject of this sweeping topographical view is Rapallo, a Ligurian port town located around fifteen miles south-east of Genoa. The location is identified by Turner’s abbreviated central inscription ‘Rap’. He reached Rapallo from the south-west, having crossed the Portofino promontory between Recco and Camogli to the west and Santa Margherita Ligure to the east. This study appears to record the approach to Rapallo, with the artist facing north-east. Further views of Rapallo appear on folio 33 recto and verso (D21476–D21477).

Hannah Kaspar
November 2024

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘Rapallo, from the South-West 1828’, catalogue entry, November 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/rapallo-from-the-south-west-r1210018, accessed 02 August 2025.