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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > European River and Lowland Scenes > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Town on a Hill with a Domed Building and a Tower c.1824

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Town on a Hill with a Domed Building and a Tower’ c.1824
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
A Town on a Hill with a Domed Building and a Tower c.1824
D20402
Turner Bequest CCXXIV 105
Pencil on blue wove paper, 141 x 192 mm
Stamped in black ‘CCXXIV 105’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Towards the top left of this sketch of a town on a hill, a tower-like structure stands at what appears to be its highest point. In the foreground, also to the left, two diagonal lines suggest a pathway and a series of more vigorous marks point to the presence of trees. Towards the bottom of the hill, the forms of numerous buildings are indicated, including one with a dome topped by a roof lantern. Two towers stand a little way off, which, like the dome, may also belong to an ecclesiastical building.
For the grouping and dating of these works, see the section Introduction.
There is a sketch of an unrelated subject on the verso (D40413; CCXXIV 105v).

Ben Pollitt
August 2019

How to cite

Ben Pollitt, ‘A Town on a Hill with a Domed Building and a Tower c.1824 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, August 2019, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, March 2023, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-town-on-a-hill-with-a-domed-building-and-a-tower-r1202126, accessed 09 May 2024.