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

As identified by Cecilia Powell, the dominant subject of this study is the Piazza del Nettuno in the historic heart of Bologna.1 Turner’s vantage point is standing on the west side of the Piazza Maggiore, facing north-east towards the Piazza del Nettuno. Roughly marked towards the centre is the monumental Fontana del Nettuno, a sixteenth-century civic fountain topped with a bronze statue of Neptune, created by Giambologna. Also in view, to his left, is the eastern façade of the Palazzo d’Accursio, constructed between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Formerly the city hall, it now houses the city’s civic art collection.

The building with a loggia to Turner’s right is the Palazzo del Podestà. Visible above is its crenellated belltower, the Torre dell’Arengo. Towards the top of the page are two separate details that connect to form the clock tower of the Palazzo d’Accursio, known as the Torre dell’Orologio. It lies further to the south of the present view, just outside Turner’s line of vision. In the bottom-right corner, executed with the sketchbook turned vertically, is the freestanding belltower of the Basilica of San Petronio, a landmark also further south and out of view.

For further depictions of Bologna in the present sketchbook, see folios 16 verso–17 recto, 21 verso–22 recto and 24 verso (D14861–D14862, D14870–D14871, D14876). Turner also produced numerous sketches of Bologna during his first major Italian tour of 1819–20; for further commentary and a list of relevant works, see Matthew Imms’s entry in the present catalogue for the Venice to Ancona sketchbook (Tate D14532; Turner Bequest CLXXVI 24).