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

The three views on this page are inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation. Turner’s centre-left inscription identifies their subject as ‘Recco’, a coastal town situated south-east of Genoa. It seems he mistakenly recognised the town as the neighbouring fishing village of Camogli, and proceeded to write ‘Cam’ before correcting his mistake with the overwritten inscription ‘Recco’.

Moving from top to bottom, the three studies depict the town from a position of increasing proximity. It is difficult to confirm whether Turner was sketching from land or sea, although he possibly approached the town by boat. The upper sketch offers a more distant view, whereas the two lower studies offer architectural detailing of the town’s arches, buildings and a tower – likely the Santuario di San Michele e del Santissimo Crocifisso. The geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot has identified the distant landmass as the Portofino massif seen towards the east, with the Punta Chiappa on the right.1

Recco’s topography has changed significantly since Turner’s visit in 1828 due to the repeated Allied bombing attacks during the Second World War that demolished much of its centre and infrastructure.