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

The view is from about the middle of the Canale della Giudecca off the church of the Redentore, looking north to the arches over the doorways of the Emporio dei Sali (or Magazzini del Sale) on the left, apparently with the campanile of Santo Stefano brought into the composition from a little further west. Beyond are the familiar domes and twin campanili of the church of Santa Maria della Salute, with the Seminario Patriarcale picked out in fluid white, leading on to the less clearly defined Dogana. In the distance at the centre, the campanile of San Marco (St Mark’s) is shown as overly tall and slender, with the domes of the Basilica also somewhat emphatic above the shadowy Piazzetta side of the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). Towards the right, the dome of San Zaccaria stands above the Riva degli Schiavioni, and the panorama ends with a white façade likely intended as the church of the Pietà.

Without further elaboration, in 1881 John Ruskin categorised this work among twenty-five Turner Bequest subjects ‘chiefly in Venice. Late time, extravagant, and showing some of the painter’s worst and final faults; but also, some of his peculiar gifts in a supreme degree.’1 Ian Warrell has highlighted the close compositional similarities with the painting Venice, from the Canale della Giudecca, Chiesa di S. Maria della Salute, &c., exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840, just prior to Turner’s third and last visit to the city (Victoria and Albert Museum, London; engraved 1859–61: Tate impression T06361).2

Warrell’s suggestion that the painting ‘was perhaps based’ on this ‘simple colour study’3 would thus imply its association with the second stay, in 1833. Alternatively, although it, Tate D32207 and D32208 (Turner Bequest CCCXVII 22, 23) ‘set out the compositions of paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy before the 1840 visit, ... these could be interpreted as instances of Turner revisiting a subject he had already treated.’4 Which came first in this case remains a moot point, as the numerous differences in the disposition and elaboration of the shipping, proportions and other details to make it clear that the one was not a precise transcription of the other. Compare also Tate D32205 (Turner Bequest CCCXVII 20), which echoes a painting exhibited just before the 1833 stay.

Among the sheets gathered in this subsection, Tate D32205 (Turner Bequest CCCXVII 20) and this one are respectively inscribed in pencil ‘8 V’ and ‘6 V’. These seem to be in series with several other Venice watercolours associated with 1840, although whether they were intended as an informal series or when these numbers were applied is unclear; see the Introduction to the tour.

As well as producing many original watercolour views of Venice, the widely travelled watercolourist Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821–1906) was in the habit of making sympathetic if often rather loose transcriptions from earlier artists he admired. He made copies of several examples from Turner’s 1840 visit in the Bequest, including this one (see Tate N04772); see also under Tate D32126, D32154, D32156, D32207, D32216 (Turner Bequest CCCXV 10, CCCXVI 17, 19, CCCXVII 22, 31).

Technical notes:

As discussed in the Introduction to this subsection, in the context of Turner’s 1833 Continental tour including Venice, Ian Warrell has noted his use of grey paper by Bally, Ellen and Steart,1 ‘from at least four different batches’, and it is ‘possible’ that Tate D32205–D32210 (Turner Bequest CCCXVII 20–25), including the present subject, relate to that occasion,2 or 1840, when similar paper was used extensively (see Tate D32180–D32181, D32183–D32184, D32200–D32201, D32203–D32204, D32212, D32215, D32217, D33883; Turner Bequest CCCXVII 1, 2, 4, 5, 15, 16, 18, 19, 27–30, 32, CCCXLI 183).3

Verso:

Blank; inscribed in pencil ‘25’ above right of centre, ascending vertically; stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram over ‘CCCXVII – 24’ towards bottom left; inscribed in pencil ‘D32209’ bottom right.