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

The three studies on this page depict a hilltop town from increasing proximity. While the subject remains to be conclusively identified, it is possibly the medieval walled town of Monteriggioni, north-west of Siena. The upper view depicts three Cypress trees and a three-arched bridge in the foreground, the town a mere silhouette on the horizon. This vista continues onto folio 6 recto opposite (D21598). The middle study appears to show the same subject from closer range, delineating individual buildings a pathway winding down the hill, and a chapel to the right. This vista also extends onto the opposite page, which is inscribed ‘Monte Senese’, a location Turner would have glimpsed in the distance as he looked west during the approach to Siena. The street scene at the bottom offers a view from inside a town, the central spire possibly belonging to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Monteriggioni.