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 Amalfi from the West 1819

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Amalfi from the West’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 55 Recto:
Amalfi from the West 1819
D15839
Turner Bequest CLXXXV 55
Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in blue ink ‘278’ top left, inverted and ‘55’ bottom left, inverted
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXV 55’ top left, inverted
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner explored the Amalfi coast from Salerno by boat, before arriving at Amalfi itself. This sketch shows that he disembarked at the picturesque town for at least a short time and walked to viewpoints only accessible on foot. The prospect is taken from the seafront to the west (present-day Lungomare dei Cavalieri), and looks east across the bay and harbour of Amalfi towards the Saracen watch-tower on the spur of land to the right. Visible on the slopes on the far left-hand side is the twelfth-century Capuchin convent (present-day Grand Hotel Convento di Amalfi), see folio 34 verso and 45 verso (D15802 and D15820), whilst in the top left-hand corner is the Torre di Pogerola. Related studies can be seen on folios 54 verso (D15838), whilst for further views of Amalfi see folio 54 (D15837).

Nicola Moorby
October 2010

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Amalfi from the West 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, October 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-amalfi-from-the-west-r1138306, accessed 20 September 2024.