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 > Pompeii, Amalfi, &c., Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Temple of Aescalupius, Pompeii 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Temple of Aescalupius, Pompeii’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 25 Recto:
Temple of Aescalupius, Pompeii 1819
D15784
Turner Bequest CLXXXV 25
Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘9’ and ‘6’and ‘4 1/2’ within sketch
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in blue ink ‘278’ bottom right and ‘25’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXV 25’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The main sketch on this page represents a view of the Temple of Aescalupius in Pompeii (also known as the Temple of Jupiter Meilichius) which lies in the southern half of the city near the Temple of Isis and the theatres.1 Turner’s study is taken from the courtyard in front of the temple, in the centre of which sits a decorated altar. As the artist has inscribed within his drawing, nine steps lead from this space up to the podium and cella, in front of which are the remains of Corinthian capitals.
On the far right-hand side is part of a separate landscape drawing continued from folio 24 (D15782). Turner has folded back the page above and extended the composition onto the paper beneath.
For further sketches and a general discussion of Turner’s visit to Pompeii see the introduction to the sketchbook.

Nicola Moorby
September 2010

1
Pompeii site number VIII.7.25.

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Temple of Aescalupius, Pompeii 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 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-temple-of-aescalupius-pompeii-r1138250, accessed 26 April 2024.