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Creator:
Etched by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851
Engraved by Charles Turner, 1774–1857
after Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851
Title:
Little Devil's Bridge over the Russ above Altdorft, Switzerland
Part Of:

Collective Title: Liber Studiorum

Date:
1809
Materials & Techniques:
Etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink; engraver's proof (f) on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 11 1/2 × 17 3/8 inches (29.2 × 44.1 cm), Plate: 8 1/4 × 11 3/8 inches (21 × 28.9 cm), Image: 7 × 10 1/4 inches (17.8 × 26 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Inscribed in graphite, lower left: "19. E.P. (f) | very fine Early | <Engraving> Proof | Before the MS at top | also name misspelled 'Alldorft'"; inscribed on verso in graphite, lower left: "e£ | 87870 | 19. E.P. (f)"; lower center: "Cotswold Gallery 1924, ex G.E.Blood"

Collector’s mark: G. E. Blood (Lugt 265c)

Lettered below image: "Drawn and Etched by J.M.W.Turner Esqr. R.A.P.P. | Engraved by Chas.Turner | LITTLE DEVILS BRIDGE over the RUSS above ALLDORFT SWISSD. | London, Published March 29, 1809, by C.Turner, No.50, Warren Street, Fitzroy Square"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.8123
Classification:
Prints
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
bridge (built work) | cliff | mountain
Access:
Accessible in the Study Room [Request]
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:26162
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According to Turner, all landscapes belong to one of six fundamental categories: Architectural, Historical, Marine, Mountainous, Pastoral, and Elevated Pastoral. These prints are part of a systematic publication, the Liber Studiorum (“Book of Studies”), containing examples from each of these categories. This work provides further testimony to the enduring influence of Claude Lorrain. Claude made sepia ink and wash drawings to record all his authentic compositions and brought them together to form his celebrated Liber Veritatis (“Book of Truth”). These drawings came to be seen as the epitome of the art of landscape and were later reproduced as fine mezzotints. They inspired Turner to make his own, even more ambitious equivalents. Though imitating the format and sepia coloring of Claude’s drawings, Turner’s plates were intended not as a record of his paintings but to illustrate his own original theory of landscape art. Although never completely finished, the Liber Studiorum is among the artist’s most personal and pioneering contributions to the practice of printmaking.

Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)

Translations - Turner and Printmaking (Yale Center for British Art, 1993-09-29 - 1993-12-05) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Turner and the Sublime (British Museum, 1981-05-15 - 1981-09-20) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Turner and the Sublime (Yale Center for British Art, 1981-02-11 - 1981-04-19) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Turner and the Sublime (Art Gallery of Ontario, 1980-11-01 - 1981-01-04) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Eric M. Lee, Translations : Turner and printmaking, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1993, p. 15, no. 19, NJ18 .T85 L44 1993 (YCBA) [YCBA]


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