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

This view of the port of Genoa is dominated by its foremost landmark La Lanterna, a sixteenth-century lighthouse at the western entrance to the port.1 The tallest of its kind in the Mediterranean, it appears frequently in the present sketchbook: see also folios 12 recto, 13 recto, 14 recto and 16 verso (D21434, D21436, D21438, D21443). Arches, ramparts and hilltop buildings are also detailed to the right, and boats are visible in the harbour beneath. Turner’s vantage point appears to be from the other side of the port, looking west.

In the top-right corner is a detail of the tip of the lighthouse, possibly the beginnings of a larger study that Turner abandoned in favour of the alternative prospect given here. A minor view of Genoa with ramparts, arches and buildings fills the bottom-left corner.

For a general commentary on Turner’s first visit to Genoa in 1828, together with a list of relevant works in the sketchbook, see under folio 6 verso (D21423).