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

As identified by the Turner scholars Cecilia Powell and Roland Courtot, this panoramic view depicts Caprarola in Viterbo.1 The town’s densely clustered buildings are more clearly defined at the centre of the composition, whereas the foreground is loosely detailed by comparison. Among the belltowers outlined to the right is the Church of San Michele Arcangelo. The artist’s top-right inscription ‘w’, with a faint line leading to its tower, is likely referring characteristically to a white element or bright effect. As noted by Courtot, Turner’s viewpoint is from the south; visible in the distance, towards the top-right corner, is the pentagonal structure of the Palazzo Farnese, a Renaissance hilltop palace overlooking the town.2 Turner depicted this subject in a dozen works in the present sketchbook; see under folio 4 verso (D21772) for an extended commentary and a list of relevant works.