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

The upper view on this page depicts the fortifications on the north side of the port of Marseille. At the centre is the Tour du Roi René, built in the fifteenth century, which now houses the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations.1 Turner’s inscription beneath possibly reads ‘2 Parts’, observing the string course around the building that divides it horizontally. Beyond, to the right, is the medieval church of Saint-Laurent. Turner’s viewpoint appears to be from the south side of the port near Fort Saint-Nicolas, looking north across the water. Turner composed this view with the sketchbook inverted. Beneath, at a right angle, is a rapid study of a sailing vessel, possibly a tartane, a traditional fishing vessel common in Marseille.

For a general commentary on Turner’s visit to Marseille and a list of comparable works in the sketchbook, see under folio 53 recto (D21092; Turner Bequest CCXXX 52).