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

Following a systematic exploration of the eastern bank of the River Tiber from the Isola Tiberina to the outskirts of Rome, Turner made a series of panoramic drawings from San Paolo fuori le mura, the basilica church situated outside of the ancient city walls, approximately one mile south of the Porta San Paolo, see folios 10 verso–12 and 13 verso–14 (D16503–D16506 and D16509–D16510). This sketch appears to depict the view looking west across the Roman campagna, which as Turner has noted in the bottom right-hand corner, is the direction of Ostia, the ancient port at the mouth of the River Tiber, approximately twenty miles south-west of the city. One of the buildings on right-hand side of the page may represent Santa Passera, a small church which lies directly opposite San Paolo fuori le mura, on the other side of the river. In the left-hand foreground, Turner has included a seated figure looking out at the view, probably watching the sun setting across the campagna. A small part of the composition continues on the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 12 (D16506).