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Etched by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, British, The Fifth Plague of Egypt, 1808
- Title:
- The Fifth Plague of Egypt
- Part Of:
- Date:
- 1808
- Materials & Techniques:
- Etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
- Dimensions:
- Sheet: 11 1/2 × 16 3/4 inches (29.2 × 42.5 cm), Plate: 8 1/4 × 11 3/8 inches (21 × 28.9 cm), Image: 7 1/8 × 10 1/8 inches (18.1 × 25.7 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed in graphite, lower left: "16"; lower right: "Dup. II"; inscribed on verso in graphite, upper left: "G <29 | 30> 16"; lower left: "16 I. | (C.J.Palmer 1868)"; lower center: "Cotswold Gallery, 1924, ex G.E.Blood"; lower right: "2/12/"
Collector's mark: Charles J. Palmer (Lugt 2946); collector’s mark: G. E. Blood (Lugt 265c)
Lettered above image: "H"; below image: "Drawn & Etched by J.M.W.Turner Esqr. R.A.P.P. | Engraved by C.Turner | The 5th Plague of Egypt the Picture late in the possession of W.Beckford Esqr. | London, Published June 10, 1808, by C.Turner No.50, Warren Street, Ftizroy Square"; scratched letters lower left: "Proof"
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B1977.14.14021
- Classification:
- Prints
- Collection:
- Prints and Drawings
- Subject Terms:
- clouds | landscape | lightning | meteorology | pyramids | science | storm
- Access:
- Accessible in the Study Room [Request]
- Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:38807
- Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
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)
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