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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Second Italian Tour 1828-9 > Florence to Orvieto Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Landscapes near Poggibonsi; Lake Bolsena 1828

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Landscapes near Poggibonsi; Lake Bolsena’ 1828
Folio 6 Verso:
Landscapes near Poggibonsi; Lake Bolsena 1828
D21599
Turner Bequest CCXXXIV 6a
Pencil on paper, 148 x 104 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Poggibonsi’ below centre, ‘Bol’ in bottom-left corner and ‘St L[?orenzo]’ towards bottom centre
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The upper section of this page contains two extremely loose studies of landscapes, their location revealed by Turner’s lower inscription ‘Poggibonsi’, a Tuscan town north-west of Siena. Barring the tower at the centre of the page, few buildings are visible, and greater attention is paid to the contours of the landscape. Further views of Poggibonsi appear on folios 7 recto–8 verso and 9 verso (D21600–D21603, D21605).
Separated with a swift pencil line, the lower sketch is more clearly delineated and relates to a later stage of Turner’s journey. The large expanse of water surrounded by hills and dotted with boats is labelled ‘Bol’, in reference to Lake Bolsena near Orvieto: see also folios 7 recto and 29 verso (D21600, D21645). The bottom-right inscription may read ‘St Lorenzo’, positioning Turner to the north of the lake near San Lorenzo Nuovo, a village he passed on the way to Orvieto.

Hannah Kaspar
November 2024

How to cite

Hannah Kaspar, ‘Landscapes near Poggibonsi; Lake Bolsena 1828’, catalogue entry, November 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2025, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/landscapes-near-poggibonsi-lake-bolsena-r1210140, accessed 15 April 2025.