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

This vignette appeared as the end-piece to the thirty-fifth section of Rogers’s Italy, entitled ‘The Fire-fly’.1 It was engraved by Edward Goodall, who was one of the most prolific and skilled interpreters of Turner’s designs.2 Perugia offers an idealised view of the Umbrian plain, with the Apennines rising in the distance and scattered ancient ruins and umbrella or stone pines occupying an otherwise barren foreground.

Compared to many of his other Italian subjects, Turner had very little first-hand material to refer to while preparing this vignette. Although he did visit Perugia in 1819, he appears to have produced only two views of the city at this time (see Tate D16580, D16581; Turner Bequest CXCI 57a, 58). The vignette does not appear to have been modelled directly after either sketch, although the second drawing, which shows the city from a distance, may bear some relation. Instead, the content and composition of Perugia appear to have derived primarily from Turner’s memory and imagination, which would account for the confusion that has surrounded the title of the work. Although it was published in 1830 with the title Perugia, later writers were unable to recognise the subject matter: Ruskin called it a ‘nameless composition with stone pines’,3 whilst Finberg simply named it ‘Italian Composition.’4

Neither Perugia nor Tivoli, the vignette that appears as the head-piece to ‘The Fire-Fly’, bears any direct relationship to the topics discussed in this section of Italy. However, both compositions fuse the natural beauty of the Roman countryside with picturesque ancient ruins, expressing Rogers’s quintessential vision of Italy as the once glorious centre of Western civilisation.

Verso:

Inscribed by unknown hands in pencil ‘19’ and ‘1 b’ centre and ‘CCLXXX.144’ bottom centre and ‘D.27661’ bottom left. There is also a stroke of black watercolour bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLXXX 144’ bottom right.