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

As Turner’s inscription indicates, the principal sketch on this page, executed with the book turned horizontally, shows a view of Saint-Raphaël, a small town near Fréjus on the south coast of France, situated approximately twenty-five miles south-west of Cannes. Specifically, the drawing depicts the Romanesque fortified church of San Rafeu, viewed from the north-east, as first identified by art historian Maurice Guillaud in 1981.1 The structure rises above the town, with the sea and the coastline visible beyond to the west.

A second sketch, positioned on the left and executed with the book held vertically, shows another view of a church, with its belltower and buttresses visible along the side. The subject is currently unidentified. Geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot identifies the drawing as an additional study of San Rafeu, but this appears to be a mistake as the architectural details depicted do not correspond to this structure.2 Above the church, Turner has drawn a hexagon, presumably as a reminder of the tower’s six-sided design.

Turner appears to have travelled inland from Toulon, the starting point of the journey described in this sketchbook, to the port of Fréjus (situated less than two miles from Saint-Raphaël), before continuing on to the city of Cannes, approximately twenty-five miles away. For an overview of Turner’s itinerary, see the Introduction to this sketchbook.

Technical notes:

There is a small, brown stain, just above the centre of the page.