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 View of La Spezia from the Via Genova 1828

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘View of La Spezia from the Via Genova’ 1828
Folio 47 Verso:
View of La Spezia from the Via Genova 1828
D21504
Turner Bequest CCXXXIII 47a
Pencil on white lined wove paper, 96 x 144 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘[?S]’ top right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This cursory study has been identified by the geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot as the Ligurian port city of La Spezia.1 Facing south-east, Turner likely approached La Spezia along the Via Genova, enjoying an elevated viewpoint that allowed for panoramic views of the bay. The squiggle towards the top-right corner is possibly an ‘S’ for ‘Spezia’. Further views of La Spezia from a similar vantage point appear on the recto and on folio 48 recto (D21503, D21505).

Hannah Kaspar
November 2024

1
Roland Courtot, ‘10. Vers Rome: “carnet de Gènes et Florence” (TB CCXXXIII)’, Carnets de voyage de Turner, accessed 2 May 2024, https://carnetswt.hypotheses.org/2291.

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘View of La Spezia from the Via Genova 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/view-of-la-spezia-from-the-via-genova-r1210044, accessed 17 June 2025.