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

Turner oriented the sketchbook vertically to produce these two rough studies of buildings, with the peaks of the Apennine Mountains visible in the distance. He was presumably in the vicinity of Terni or Foligno in Umbria, travelling north-east from Rome, although the lack of detail prevents a conclusive identification.

The recto is blank, except for ‘12’ in red ink and ‘CLXXVIII – 12’ stamped in black, both towards bottom right. Finberg’s 1909 Inventory omitted the customary ‘a’ suffix to the folio number to indicate that the present work is the verso, and when Tate accession numbers were allocated, the recto was initially numbered D14853, with this page as D14854; the latter number was subsequently cancelled in favour of the former.