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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > Venice, Austria and Southern Germany ... > Venice; Passau to Würzburg Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Church of San Geremia in the Distance 1840

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Church of San Geremia in the Distance’ 1840
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 13 Recto:
The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Church of San Geremia in the Distance 1840
D31301
Turner Bequest CCCX 13
Pencil on cream wove paper, 126 x 198 mm
Partial watermark ‘J. Wha’
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘13’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCCX – 13’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned horizontally, the view is to the west from about level with the church of San Stae (see the verso D31302) along the northern reach of the Grand Canal, with the dome and campanile of the church of San Geremia (see folio 11 verso; D31298) outlined in the distance. On the left are the twin obelisks of the Palazzo Belloni Battagia, with the upper storey of the Ca’ Tron in the foreground; the imposing façades are otherwise left blank.
Barely more developed, the largest block opposite them is the Ca’ Vendramin Calergi (the Casino), possibly shown in the foreground on folio 12 verso opposite (D31300), looking in the same direction from further west. This is one of a short sequence of sketches made while travelling south-east along the canal between the Canale di Cannaregio and the Rialto Bridge (folios 12 verso–15 recto; D31300–D31305).
The drawing on the verso (D31302) is an even looser variation, from a little further east. As noted in the sketchbook’s Introduction, the Venice views on its early pages are intermingled with German sketches from Turner’s return journey.

Matthew Imms
September 2018

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Church of San Geremia in the Distance 1840 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2018, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2019, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-grand-canal-venice-with-the-church-of-san-geremia-in-the-r1196091, accessed 25 April 2024.