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Lot Essay
In Venice with Turner, Finberg assumed (op.cit., p. 159) that Turner executed this watercolour on the spot during his trip to Venice in 1819; however we are grateful to Ian Warrell for pointing out that the present drawing actually relates to a group of watercolours Turner painted before he went to Italy, executed circa 1818. The group consisted of eighteen drawings which were to be engraved to illustrate James Hakewill's Tour of Italy. The illustrations to the publication were based on camera obscura drawings executed in 1817 by Hakewill and which were commissioned from a number of different artists including Turner; the majority of these drawings are now in the British School at Rome, see A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, R.A., Fribourg and London, 1979, p. 381. For Turner's other watercolours in this group see Wilton, nos. 700-717. Additional information about these drawings can be found in C. Powell, 'Topography, Imagination and Travel: Turner's Relationship with James Hakewill', Art History, V, no. 4, December 1982, pp. 408-425; an edited version of C. Powell's discussion of the project also appears in her book Turner in the South, 1987, pp. 17-18.
Unlike the other watercolours executed for this project, although the present watercolour was based directly on one of Hakewill's drawings, it was not actually engraved for the final publication. Despite this the watercolour is in the same format and size as the subjects that were engraved. This watercolour and another entitled Valley of the Var (A. Wilton, op.cit., no. 398) were ultimately not used in the publications, the first part of which was published in May 1818, as, due to the vagaries of the art market, sales were not as extensive as had been originally hoped. Nevertheless, the Hakewill drawings were important for preparing Turner for his own visit to Italy in 1819 (Hakewill even wrote a quantity of useful information in Turner's Route to Rome sketchbook, Turner Bequest CLXXXI): this Venetian view, one of the most popular views of Venice, recurs in watercolours by Turner of as late as 1840, TB CCCXV-6 and CCCXVI-1, illustrated by Stainton, op.cit., nos. 47 and 58.
Unlike the other watercolours executed for this project, although the present watercolour was based directly on one of Hakewill's drawings, it was not actually engraved for the final publication. Despite this the watercolour is in the same format and size as the subjects that were engraved. This watercolour and another entitled Valley of the Var (A. Wilton, op.cit., no. 398) were ultimately not used in the publications, the first part of which was published in May 1818, as, due to the vagaries of the art market, sales were not as extensive as had been originally hoped. Nevertheless, the Hakewill drawings were important for preparing Turner for his own visit to Italy in 1819 (Hakewill even wrote a quantity of useful information in Turner's Route to Rome sketchbook, Turner Bequest CLXXXI): this Venetian view, one of the most popular views of Venice, recurs in watercolours by Turner of as late as 1840, TB CCCXV-6 and CCCXVI-1, illustrated by Stainton, op.cit., nos. 47 and 58.