Watercolor on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 8 3/4 x 12 1/2 inches (22.2 x 31.8 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed in graphite, verso, lower left: "J.M.W. TURNER : VENICE , THE MOUTH OF THE GRAND CANAL"
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.4652
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
marine art | boats | cityscape | canal | canal | buildings | dome | steeples | Grand Tour
Associated Places:
Italy | Veneto | Venezia | Venice | Europe | Grand Canal
Currently On View:
On view
Exhibition History:
J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27)Unto this Last: Two Hundred Years of John Ruskin (Yale Center for British Art, 2019-09-05 - 2019-12-08)An American's Passion for British Art - Paul Mellon's Legacy (Yale Center for British Art, 2007-04-18 - 2007-07-29)An American's Passion for British Art - Paul Mellon's Legacy (Royal Academy of Arts, 2007-10-20 - 2008-01-27)Paul Mellon's Legacy : A Passion for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2007-04-18 - 2007-07-29)Turner and Venice (Tate Britain, 2003-10-09 - 2004-01-11)Turner and Venice (Kimbell Art Museum, 2004-02-15 - 2004-05-30)Edward Lear and the Art of Travel (Yale Center for British Art, 2000-09-20 - 2001-01-14)J. M. W. Turner (Musée du Louvre, 1983-10-14 - 1984-01-16)English Landscape (Paul Mellon Collection) 1630-1850 (Yale Center for British Art, 1977-04-19 - 1977-07-17)
Publications:
Sir Geoffrey Agnew, Yale's 1700 Mellon Pictures, The Times (London), , April 28, 1977, p. 9, Times Digital ArchiveTimothy J. Barringer, Unto this last : two hundred years of John Ruskin, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2019, p. 131, no. 11, NJ18.R895 .B37 2019 (LC) Oversize (YCBA)John Baskett, Paul Mellon's Legacy: a Passion for British Art: Masterpieces from the Yale Center for British Art, , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2007, p. 285, no. 92, pl. 92, N5220 M552 P38 2007 OVERSIZE (YCBA)Lucinda Lax, J. M. W. Turner : romance & reality, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 2025, p. 12, V 2981 (YCBA)Paul Mellon's Legacy : a passion for British art [large print labels], , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2007, v. 2, no. 92, N5220 M552 P381 2007 OVERSIZE (YCBA)John Ruskin, The works of John Ruskin, , George Allen, London, 1903-1912, p. 17 (v. 9), , PR5251 C66 1903 (YCBA)Eric Shanes, The life and masterworks of J.M.W. Turner, Parkstone Press, New York, 2008, pp. 12-13, NJ18 T85 S441 2008 + OVERSIZE (YCBA)Ian Warrell, Turner and Venice, Tate Publishing, London, 2003, p. 171, NJ18 T85 W36 2003 OVERSIZE (YCBA)Ian Warrell, Turner, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 2025, pp. 27, 97, 104-105, pl. 64, NJ18 .T85 W37 2025 (YCBA)Scott Wilcox, Edward Lear and the art of travel, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 2000, pp. 184-185, no. 202, NJ18 L455 W55 2000 (YCBA)Andrew Wilton, The life and work of J.M.W. Turner, Academy Editions, London, 1979, p. 463, no. 1360, NJ18 T85 +W577 OVERSIZE (YCBA)
Gallery Label:
The magical vistas of Venice and its history of rising and declining mercantile power became a source of lasting fascination for Turner. During three short visits to the island, he worked tirelessly to record its every detail, taking gondola trips along its waterways and sketching continually. He ultimately produced more than one thousand pencil drawings and 150 watercolors over a total of only four weeks. In this example, the red and brown pen and brush strokes over nearly white paper to the left capture the reflected sunlight on the Grand Canal’s palaces. On the right, the forms of the Customs House and the dome and campanile of the church of San Giorgio Maggiore are deftly washed in with cool greens and blues. Though rapidly executed, the resulting image convincingly evokes the city’s evanescent luminosity. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)