Turner 's Palestrina - composition, oil on canvas, exhibited Royal Academy 1830, Tate Britain (Dyson Perrins bequest, 1958) ( Wilton P295). On the right of the composition is a long avenue of trees receding into the distance.
The painting was bought in 1844 by Elhanan Bicknell, and appeared at Christie's after his death in 1863, when Ruskin suggested its purchase to John James Ruskin. 'You may have it for nothing, literally - as long as you choose. It will be worth £4000 in five years more - which will pay both interest and insurance. It is not a composition [i.e. Turner's invention] - it is Virgil's Præneste - insisting on the stream descending from the hills (the bridge evidently being a careful study on the spot)... the way Turner used to fish out the character and meaning of a whole family of scenes in this way is quite miraculous' (letter of 2 May 1863, Works, 36.441-442). The recommendation was not, however, taken up.
J.M.W. Turner 1775-1851
Palestrina-composition c.1828
Oil on canvas, 140.5x249cm
Exhibitions: RA 1830 (181); Royal Scottish Academy, 1845
Provenance: Bt Elhanan Bicknell, March 1844; sale Christie's 25/4/1863 (122), bt (in), Bicknell, sale Christie 25/3/1865 (206), bt (in), Miller, and sale Christie 9/4/1881 (463), bt Agnew for James Dyson Perrins; Charles Wm. Dyson Perrins by 1939; bequeathed to the National Gallery, London, 1958; transferred to the Tate Gallrey, 1961
Collection: Tate Gallery, London
For a reproduction of this artistic work, please consult: Butlin, M., Joll, E., The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner: Revised Edition (2 Volumes), (Yale University Press, 1984), p.173/pl.297 or alternatively www.tate.org.uk/servlet/AWork?id=14584