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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > First Italian Tour 1819-20 > Albano, Nemi, Rome Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Two Views of the Forum, Rome 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Two Views of the Forum, Rome’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 64 Verso:
Two Views of the Forum, Rome 1819
D15418
Turner Bequest CLXXXII 63 a
Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘C H[...]’ centre bottom
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner thoroughly explored the Roman Forum (Campo Vaccino) and made numerous sketches from various angles. The central focus of this view of the north-west end looking east is the eight remaining columns of the Temple of Saturn. In the background on the left is the dome of the Church of Santi Luca e Martina and the Curia with the ruined Temple of Vespasian in front. In the foreground Turner has drawn washing hanging in lines, an indication of the common and practical uses to which the Forum, known as the Campo Vaccino was often put during the nineteenth century.
In the top right-hand corner is a separate view which appears to be a schematic depiction of the three Corinthian capitals of the Temple of Castor and Pollux and the roofs of various adjacent buildings. For a general discussion of the Forum see folio 32 (D15355).
The sketches are inverted on the page.

Nicola Moorby
May 2008

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Two Views of the Forum, Rome 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2008, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-two-views-of-the-forum-rome-r1132713, accessed 24 April 2024.