With its Roman heritage and beautiful scenery, Tivoli was a favoured destination for Europe’s wealthy young aristocrats from the seventeenth century onwards. The waterfalls and classical ruins, particularly the Temple of the Sibyl, was a staple destination for these ‘Grand Tourists’ and a recurring image for generations of artists, so much so that they became stock motifs — the tourist’s ultimate postcard.

Turner’s watercolour was created in the mid-1790s, before he had visited Italy. He likely copied it, possibly from John Robert Cozens, as an exercise in composition and technique. When Turner finally visited Tivoli in 1819, he was so struck by the area he devoted an entire sketchbook and several watercolours to its study.