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

D21133–D21270, D41068–D41069

Turner Bequest CCXXXI 1–70a

Sketchbook bound in boards covered in brown mottled paper; possible remnant of flap projecting from fore edge of both front and back covers (see under D41068 and D41069)
70 leaves and paste-downs of white wove paper, with all edges washed in yellow; approximate page size 174 x 113 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘[... ?Marseilles] to Genoa’ inside front cover (D41068)
Numbered 324 as part of the Turner Schedule in 1854 and endorsed by the Executors of the Turner Bequest inside front cover
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXI’ on front cover, top right (faint)
Inscribed in pencil ‘CCXXXI’ inside front cover (D41068)
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXI’ inside front cover

Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

Turner used this sketchbook during his second major tour of France and Italy in 1828–9, as one of eight associated with this journey (see the overall tour Introduction). Chronologically, it is the second sketchbook of the tour, documenting an early phase of his journey through southern France and into northern Italy, before he arrived in Genoa. While Turner could have taken an alternative route to Rome by crossing the Alps, as he had done in 1819 (see Nicola Moorby’s ‘First Italian Tour 1819–20’ section in the present catalogue), he instead followed an itinerary that took him via southern France. Marseilles to Genoa picks up the trail from the previous sketchbook in the sequence, Lyons to Marseilles (Tate; Turner Bequest CCXXX), which draws to a close in Toulon.

Naturally, Marseilles to Genoa is dominated by coastal views of the Mediterranean, captured either from out to sea or from winding coastal roads, which allowed for panoramic vistas of the dramatic coastal scenery. The sketchbook opens in the vicinity of Cannes and Antibes; Turner apparently travelled by boat for at least part of his journey between Toulon and Nice, as there are numerous studies from out to sea, looking inland: see folios 1 verso, 2 recto, 3 recto, 4 recto, 6 verso and 7 recto (D21134–D21135, D21137, D21139, D21144–D21145). He then continued by land via the ‘Corniche’ road, which closely follows the coastline over the border from France into Italy and all the way to Genoa.

Turner labelled this sketchbook ‘Marseilles to Genoa’ inside the front cover (D41068), a title retained by Finberg in his 1909 Inventory of the Bequest.1 In his initial survey, John Ruskin took a similar view, placing this sketchbook in a wrapper (since lost, like most of the others) inscribed simply ‘324. Coast of Genoa’2 (with its original schedule number). However, the recorded views actually chart the coastal route from Cannes in southern France to Savona in north-west Italy, a stretch of around 113 miles. The first leg of the journey fills approximately the first third of the sketchbook, recording views of French coastal subjects including Cannes, Antibes, Cap d’Antibes, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Èze. The route continues via Monaco, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Menton.

Turner then crossed over into Italian territory (see folio 27 recto; D21185). The remaining two thirds of the sketchbook contain views of the Riviera di Ponente, the area of Ligurian coast between Ventimiglia to the west and Genoa to the east. Among the subjects sketched are Ventimiglia, Bordignera, Ospedaletti, Sanremo, San Lorenzo al Mare, Porto Maurizio, Oneglia, Cervo, Andora, Laigueglia, Albenga, Ceriale, Pietra Ligure, Finale Ligure, Noli, and finally Savona, approximately thirty miles south-west of Genoa. The next book in the sequence picks up the itinerary from here, with several views of Genoa: see Genoa and Florence (Tate; Turner Bequest CCXXXIII).

Initially, two additional sketchbooks, Orleans to Marseilles and Coast of Genoa, were thought to relate to this tour (Tate; Turner Bequest CCXXIX, CCXXXII), as they cover a similar geographical terrain. However, following further research by Turner scholars including Ian Warrell and Roland Courtot, they have since been reallocated to a later journey through southern France and Italy in 1838.3 As such, the content of this sketchbook has considerable overlap with the later Coast of Genoa sketchbook.

The present author is very grateful to former Tate cataloguer Nicola Moorby for passing on her draft entries for this sketchbook prepared as part of her initial work on this tour, as acknowledged throughout, and also for supplying geographer and Turner researcher Roland Courtot’s unpublished notes and identifications, which he kindly sent by email in April 2008.4