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

In common with many eighteenth- and nineteenth-century visitors to Rome, part of Turner’s exploration of the city included the panoramic views seen from certain elevated vantage points. One of the most famous of these was the Janiculum Hill (or Gianicolo), a ridge of high ground to the west of the River Tiber which offered sweeping vistas across the historical centre of the capital. The most celebrated vista was that seen from the terrace or loggia of the Villa Lante in the centre of the hill. Turner’s viewpoint here, however, is further towards the northern tip from a tree known as ‘Tasso’s oak, a fabled Roman landmark associated with the sixteenth-century poet, Torquato Tasso (1544–1595). According to legend, Tasso spent the final year of his life waiting here for official recognition for his works from the Pope and died in the nearby convent of Sant’Onofrio where his tomb now lies. His oak survived until the early twentieth century when it was struck by lightening.1 The remnants can still be seen today, held upright by concrete and metal scaffolding. Turner made a large sequence of drawings related to this location in the Albano, Nemi, Rome sketchbook (Tate D15369–70; Turner Bequest CLXXXII 39a–40), the St Peter’s sketchbook (Tate D16158–65; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 2–5) and the Small Roman C. Studies sketchbook (Tate D16446–7; Turner Bequest CXC 34a–35).

The view depicted in the drawing looks north from Tasso’s oak towards St Peter’s on the left and the Castel Sant’Angelo in the centre. The church with the dome in the foreground to the right is San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, on the banks of the River Tiber, and visible in the far distance is the Villa Medici and the grounds of the Borghese Gardens. The architectural feature in the central foreground is a decorative tablet or fountain in the Teatro Alla Quercia del Tasso, a small open-air theatre, also visible in another sketch (see Tate D16165; Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 5). Like many pages within this book, the drawing has been executed over a washed grey background and Turner has created areas of pale highlights by rubbing through to the white paper beneath.

Turner made a thorough exploration of various locations on the Janiculum using several sketchbooks. In addition to sketches from the oak of Torquato Tasso he also recorded the view from the Villa Lante in the centre of the hill (Tate D16338; Turner Bequest CLXXXIX 12, D40856, and Tate D16449; Turner Bequest CXC 36). Finally, related sketches from the southern tip include the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola (Tate D15450; Turner Bequest CLXXXII 80), San Pietro in Montorio (Tate D16328; CLXXXIX 2 and Tate D15447–9; Turner Bequest CLXXXII 78a–79a) and the Villa Aurelia (Tate D16353; Turner Bequest CLXXXIX 27 and D40049). The extended series of sketches suggests that he was seriously exploring the subject as a potential picture in oil or watercolour. His interest ultimately led to a finished watercolour, Rome, San Pietro in Montorio circa 1820–1 (Courtauld Institute of Art, London) which he produced following the 1819 tour for his great friend and patron, Walter Fawkes.2