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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Italian River Scenes with Houses, Bridges, Boats and Figures; the Arches and 'Ala' of the Amphitheatre at Verona 1819

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 24 Recto:
Italian River Scenes with Houses, Bridges, Boats and Figures; the Arches and ‘Ala’ of the Amphitheatre at Verona 1819
D14361
Turner Bequest CLXXV 24
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 185 mm
Partial watermark ‘Al | 18’
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘G’ bottom left, upside down
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘24’ top right and ‘300’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLXXV 24’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
There are two small views at the top, framed by horizontal and vertical pencil lines, perhaps showing aspects of the same riverside setting with bridges, low buildings and small boats. The kneeling figure at the bottom right appears to be a more detailed repetition of the one by the water at the top right, and perhaps shows a fisherman in a broad-brimmed hat with baskets scattered around.
Assuming the sketch was made in sequence, the artist was probably not far west of Verona at this stage (see under folio 25 recto; D14363); at the bottom left, inverted, is a detail of the arches and ‘ala’ or wing on the outer perimeter at the north end of the city’s Roman amphitheatre, and other aspects are shown on subsequent pages.

Matthew Imms
March 2017

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Italian River Scenes with Houses, Bridges, Boats and Figures; the Arches and ‘Ala’ of the Amphitheatre at Verona 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-italian-river-scenes-with-houses-bridges-boats-and-figures-r1186474, accessed 28 March 2024.