1819
From Naples: Rome Colour Studies Sketchbook
Pencil and watercolour on paper

One of the sights Turner would have anticipated most keenly on his first trip to Italy was that offered by the celebrated Bay of Naples. Indeed, he was so eager to see it that he set out on the four day journey south from Rome almost immediately after arriving in October 1819. Following in the footsteps of watercolourist artists, such as John Robert Cozens, Thomas Jones and John ‘Warwick’ Smith, Turner studied the sweeping curve of the coastline, the sprawling town and harbour and the smouldering peak of Mount Vesuvius. As in Venice and Tivoli, the quality of the light and the beguiling combination of water and sky persuaded him to sketch not only in pencil but also to complete some coloured studies. Painted on a sheet of one of his largest sketchbooks, this watercolour shows the view from the hill behind Naples looking across the bay towards Sorrento, Capri and the smoking crater of the volcano.

The high vantage point encompasses many of the city’s landmarks. The foreground looks down upon the roof and walls of the Sant’Elmo fortress and the bell tower of the Certosa di San Martino. At the tip of the headland in the centre of the landscape is the square profile of the Castel dell’Ovo (Castle of the Egg). According to legend, the Roman poet Virgil was said to have buried an egg under the foundations, warning that its breakage would signal the fall of the castle and the end of Naples.