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 > Milan to Venice Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Classical Ruin or Buildings under Construction, Probably in or near Milan, with Architectural Details 1819

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Classical Ruin or Buildings under Construction, Probably in or near Milan, with Architectural Details’ 1819
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 16 Recto:
A Classical Ruin or Buildings under Construction, Probably in or near Milan, with Architectural Details 1819
D14348
Turner Bequest CLXXV 16
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 185 mm
Partial watermark ‘Al | 18’
Inscribed by Turner in pencil with various annotations including ‘M’ and ‘RF’ along bottom edge
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘16’ top right and ‘300’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLXXV 16’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This site, probably in or around Milan (see under folio 2 recto; D14328) with seemingly truncated columns and pilasters, sculptural or relief elements and various separately recorded details, has as yet eluded identification despite the various largely illegible notes along the bottom. The regularity of what is shown suggests a building under construction rather than a ruin. The outline of a tower and arches are seen in the distance. Folio 17 recto (D14349) may show another aspect.
Verso:
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Matthew Imms
March 2017

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Classical Ruin or Buildings under Construction, Probably in or near Milan, with Architectural Details 1819 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2017, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, July 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-classical-ruin-or-buildings-under-construction-probably-in-r1186461, accessed 26 April 2024.