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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Viterbo and Ronciglione Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Three Views of Montefiascone: (c) S. Flaviano c.1828-9

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Three Views of Montefiascone: (c) S. Flaviano’ c.1828-9
Folio 48 Recto:
Montefiascone, with the Basilica of San Flaviano 1828
D21850
Turner Bequest CCXXXVI 48
Pencil on white wove paper, 171 x 125 mm
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘48’ top left, ascending vertically, and ‘173’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXVI 48’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As identified by Cecilia Powell, this page contains three views of Montefiascone in the Viterbo province of Lazio.1 In the upper section are two distant views of the city, the lower study offering a perspective from further away. To the left is the domed profile of the cathedral, the Basilica of Santa Margherita. Turner’s vantage point was likely from the north-east, as he approached the city from Orvieto. The lower sketch depicts the Basilica of San Flaviano to the north-east of Montefiascone, outlining the three Gothic arches of its stone façade. The artist’s viewpoint for this study is facing south-west.
For a full list of Turner’s views of Montefiascone in the present sketchbook, see under folio 1 recto (D21765).

Hannah Kaspar
December 2024

1
Powell 1984, p.439.

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘Montefiascone, with the Basilica of San Flaviano 1828’, catalogue entry, December 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/montefiascone-with-the-basilica-of-san-flaviano-r1210618, accessed 06 May 2025.