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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > South-Eastern France and Genoa 1838 > Coast of Genoa Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner The Roman Aqueduct at Fréjus 1838

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Roman Aqueduct at Fréjus’ 1838
Folio 4 Recto:
The Roman Aqueduct at Fréjus 1838
D21277
Turner Bequest CCXXXII 4
Pencil on white wove paper, 98 x 157 mm
Inscribed in red ink ‘4’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXII 4’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This sketch, executed with the page turned horizontally, shows part of the Roman aqueduct at Fréjus.1 The section of the ruins depicted here is located to the north-east of the town. Turner’s viewpoint is from the south-west. The dominating outline of the Estérel Massif mountain range can be seen in the background. See folio 3 verso opposite (D21276) for a variant view of the aqueduct and an overview of Turner’s representations of Fréjus and its ruins.
1
First identified by Guillaud, Alfrey, Wilton and others 1981, p.293. See also Roland Courtot, ‘Carnet de voyage de Turner: 9. Notebook CCXXXII “Côte de Génès” (1838?)’, Hypotheses, 24 August 2018, accessed 24 June 2024, https://carnetswt.hypotheses.org/949.
Technical notes:
Yellow staining along the edges of the page is most likely the result of 1928 Tate Gallery flood (see under sketchbook introduction).

Nicola Moorby
April 2017

Revised by Hayley Flynn
June 2025

How to cite

Nicola Moorby, ‘The Roman Aqueduct at Fréjus 1838’, catalogue entry, April 2017, revised by Hayley Flynn, June 2025, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, July 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/the-roman-aqueduct-at-frejus-r1213454, accessed 16 September 2026.