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

Turner devoted four consecutive pages of the sketchbook to studies of the Jardins de la Fontaine, the public gardens of Nîmes: see folios 47 recto–48 verso (D21080–D21083; Turner Bequest CCXXX 46–47a). Located north-west of the city centre, and marking the site of a long-venerated natural spring, these extensive landscaped gardens were laid out in the mid eighteenth century. Filled with vases, statues, fountains and balustraded walkways and waterways, they were designed by Jacques-Philippe Mareschal, engineer to Louis XV. The different platforms afforded Turner numerous vantage points from which to enjoy spectacular vistas; as noted by Turner scholar Cecilia Powell, he viewed this site ‘from above in order to capture its feel as a whole’, and at ground level, where ‘buildings are sketched both for themselves and as part of an architectural ensemble’.1

Here, looking north-west, Turner sketched the ruined Roman tower known as the Tour Magne, a hilltop site he would have approached via the Jardins de la Fontaine. The tower formed part of the ancient walls surrounding the city, built under the Emperor Augustus. Of the eighty towers originally built, it is the only one still standing.2 In the foreground, a figure in front of the balustrade enjoys the view.

During the same visit to Nîmes in early September 1828, Turner also sketched the Tour Magne on a handful of loose sheets (for a list of works, see under Tate D34030; Turner Bequest CCCXLI 311). For a general commentary on Turner’s visit to Nîmes and a list of comparable works in this sketchbook, see under folio 44 verso (D21075; Turner Bequest CCXXX 43a).