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 > Gandolfo to Naples Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Four Views of the Town and Bay of Pozzuoli 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Four Views of the Town and Bay of Pozzuoli’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 73 Verso:
Four Views of the Town and Bay of Pozzuoli 1819
D15700
Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 71 a
Pencil on white wove paper, 122 x 197 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘woman with a Yellow Gown this light’ bottom left of sketch, top right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The four sketches on this page represent variant views of the town and bay of Pozzuoli, an ancient port on the coast approximately eight miles west of Naples. The most recognisable vista is the one in the bottom right-hand corner which depicts the promontory of the old port at the end of the semi-circular bay seen from the hill to the north. Extending into the sea beyond the shoreline are the ruins of the Roman breakwater, popularly known as the Bridge of Caligula, see folio 72 verso (D15698; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 70a), whilst in the distance is the distinctive outline of Cape Misenum (Capo Miseno). Meanwhile, the square tower in the bottom left-hand vista is visible in others studies of the town, see folios 73 and 91 (D15699 and D15735; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 71 and 89).

Nicola Moorby
June 2010

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Four Views of the Town and Bay of Pozzuoli 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 2010, 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-four-views-of-the-town-and-bay-of-pozzuoli-r1138161, accessed 20 April 2024.