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

Turner made several sketches of Ventimiglia, on the Ligurian coast, approximately four miles from the border with France. This very detailed and carefully recorded example, with the page turned horizontally, depicts the topographical layout of the old town from the east.1 The town is on the right-hand side of the composition with the campanile of the church of San Francesco as the most prominent feature. Beyond this to the left are the fortresses of Forte San Paolo, at the top, and Fortezza dell’Annunziata, near the shoreline. Turner has annotated his drawing to denote ‘olive’ trees on the slopes in the centre and the ‘sea’ in the crescent shaped bay on the far left.

In the top left-hand corner Turner has continued the line of the horizon to the west of where it terminates at the edge of the page. The separate study includes the profile of the coastline as far as Monaco with the Tȇte de Chien and Mont Agel.2

There appears to be a third, very schematic sketch at the top right, inverted relative to the main view. The details are too rough to be conclusively identified but they appear to represent a tower within a mountainous landscape.

For further sketches of Ventimiglia see folios 30 verso–31 recto and 32 recto–35 verso (D21190–D21191, D21193–D21200). See also the Coast of Genoa sketchbook from 1838, when Turner revisited this location (Tate D21283; Turner Bequest CCXXXII 7).

Technical notes:

There is a small stained area in the bottom-right corner of the page, probably the result of water damage.