J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

The subject of this sketch is Palazzo Marino, a sixteenth-century palace in Milan. Turner’s drawing represents a partial representation of the northern façade of the building (the side facing present-day Largo Mattiolo, near Piazza della Scala). On the right hand-side of the sheet are separate studies depicting the three successive windows from the higher left and/or right ends of the palace. Despite the schematic style of his swift ‘shorthand’ draughtsmanship, the artist has carefully recorded the differing architectural decoration of each storey and has even noted to himself the ‘Ionic’ capitals topping the pillars of the bottom level.

For further sketches of Milan see the introduction to the sketchbook.