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

The three views on this page were executed with the sketchbook turned in different positions. The upper study depicts the town of ‘Poggibonsi’, as identified by Turner’s accompanying inscription. It is inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation. The crenellated belltower at the centre presumably belongs to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta. Turner passed Poggibonsi as he journeyed south from Florence towards Siena; for variant views of this subject, see folios 6 verso, 7 verso, 8 recto and verso, and 9 verso (TD21599, D21601–D21603, D21605).

Beneath is a study of Lake Bolsena, which Turner encountered at a later stage of his journey as he approached Orvieto from the west. His diminutive inscription reads ‘Bolsena’, and the small riverside village to the left is possibly San Lorenzo Nuovo. For further studies of Lake Bolsena, see folios 6 verso and 29 verso (D21599, D21645). At the bottom of the page (the top as foliated), is a profile of a town, possibly Poggibonsi, although a location is difficult to discern from the cursory outline given here.