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 > St Peter's Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The North Façade of the Arch of Constantine, Rome 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The North Façade of the Arch of Constantine, Rome’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 22 Verso:
The North Façade of the Arch of Constantine, Rome 1819
D16196
Turner Bequest CLXXXVIII 21 a
Pencil on white wove paper, 114 x 189 mm
Inscribed by the artist in pencil ‘Purple yellow cape’ beside sketch of figure top left and ‘Pius VII PM’ underneath sketch of Arch
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
A view of the northern façade of the Arch of Constantine looking down the present-day Via di San Gregorio towards the ruins of the Palatine Hill. The sketch is very rough and Turner has underestimated the height of the attic of the arch. The arch is shaded with broad cross-hatching and Turner is possibly recording the parts of the monument plunged into shadow by setting sun. On the left-hand side Turner has drawn a quick study of a man in a hat and long cape, whilst underneath the sketch he has inscribed the name of ‘Pius VII’, the Pope who was in power during Turner’s visit and who instituted the most systematic campaign of excavation and restoration in the Roman Forum. For other sketches of the Arch of Constantine see folio 18 (D16190).
In the bottom right-hand corner is part of a sketch of the Colosseum which continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 23 (D16197).

Nicola Moorby
September 2008

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘The North Façade of the Arch of Constantine, Rome 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 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-the-north-facade-of-the-arch-of-constantine-rome-r1139707, accessed 20 April 2024.