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 Vesuvius from the Sea 1819

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Vesuvius from the Sea’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 67 Recto:
Vesuvius from the Sea 1819
D15861
Turner Bequest CLXXXV 66
Pencil on white wove paper, 113 x 189 mm
Inscribed by ?John Ruskin in blue ink ‘278’ bottom right and ‘66’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CLXXXV 66’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner’s viewpoint for this sketch of Vesuvius was from the sea to the south, during a journey by boat along the Sorrentine peninsula. The volcano was very active during the years 1817–19, and although the artist missed seeing an eruption there was an ever-present smoke trail above the crater.

Nicola Moorby
November 2010

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘Vesuvius from the Sea 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, November 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-vesuvius-from-the-sea-r1138330, accessed 25 April 2024.