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

As identified by the Turner scholars Cecilia Powell and Roland Courtot, the subject of this page is the Palazzo Farnese.1 This Renaissance palace with a distinctive pentagonal foundation lies to the north of Caprarola in the Viterbo province, overlooking the town from an elevated hilltop position.2 It appears in a dozen works in the present sketchbook; see under folio 4 verso (D21772) for an extended commentary and a list of relevant works.

Turner approached Caprarola from the north-west, and the present view depicts the palace from near the present-day Via San Rocco. Steep ramparts are outlined to the left, and the buildings of the town are swiftly delineated to the right. To the south-east, Monte Soratte is visible on the horizon; for further views of this mountain range, see under folio 27 verso (D21815). This study is inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation.

Three details from the palace’s front façade are outlined separately towards the bottom-left corner. They include the two left bays of the upper-storey, with the quoins and pilasters flanking the windows. To the right is a projecting wing on the far side of the building. The fleur-de-lys above is a decorative feature from one of the window pediments.