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

Turner oriented the sketchbook vertically to produce the two roughs studies on this page. As identified by Cecilia Powell, the upper study is a distant view of the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, a hilltop basilica located on the Colle della Guardia to the west of Bologna. The sketch beneath, apparently labelled ‘Bologna’ by Turner, depicts the Portico di San Luca, a roofed arcade winding up the hill towards the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca.

See under folio 16 verso (D14861) for a list of additional views of Bologna in this sketchbook and from Turner’s first major Italian tour of 1819–20.