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 High-Lying Town with a Classical Archway c.1824

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A High-Lying Town with a Classical Archway’ c.1824
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
A High-Lying Town with a Classical Archway c.1824
D20456
Turner Bequest CCXXIV 153
Pencil on blue wove paper, 139 x 201 mm
Stamped in black ‘CCXXIV 153’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The foreground of this sketch is dominated by a classical arch, through which a road passes, leading to a town. The town rises up a steep incline. A large building, possibly a church, stands at the highest point; facing this is a polygonal building, its high walls suggesting a fortified defensive structure.
For the grouping and dating of these works, see the section Introduction.
Technical notes:
The left edge of the sheet is notably uneven.
Verso:
Blank except for inscriptions. Inscribed in pencil ‘153’ top left, ascending vertically. Inscribed in pencil ‘231 | O’ bottom right.

Ben Pollitt
August 2019

How to cite

Ben Pollitt, ‘A High-Lying Town with a Classical Archway 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-high-lying-town-with-a-classical-archway-r1202140, accessed 09 May 2024.