This article gives some thought to a major painting by J.M.W.Turner, Rome from Mount Aventine, sold at Sotheby’s, London, on 3 December 2014 for £30.3m. Most previous accounts have accepted its topography more-or-less at face value: It turns out to be intriguingly deviant. I spent most of my teaching career extolling the imperative of drawing. … Continue reading Turner in Italy: Rome from Mount Aventine, 1836 →