Print made by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, Britishafter Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, British
Title:
The Evening Gun
Date:
ca. 1825
Materials & Techniques:
Mezzotint with scraping; touched engraver's proof (c) on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Plate: 7 1/2 × 9 7/8 inches (19 × 25.1 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Collector's mark: Charles Stokes (Lugt 2758); collector’s mark: Mary Constance Clarke (Lugt 449); collector's mark: W. G. Rawlinson (Lugt 2624)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.8349
Classification:
Prints
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Currently On View:
On view
Exhibition History:
J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27)Translations - Turner and Printmaking (Yale Center for British Art, 1993-09-29 - 1993-12-05)The Creative Printmaker (Yale Center for British Art, 1985-07-09 - 1985-09-01)The Creative Printmaker (Joseph and Margaret Muscarelle Museum of Art, 1986-03-05 - 1986-04-20)Turner and the Sublime (Yale Center for British Art, 1981-02-11 - 1981-04-19)Turner and the Sublime (British Museum, 1981-05-15 - 1981-09-20)Turner and the Sublime (Art Gallery of Ontario, 1980-11-01 - 1981-01-04)
Publications:
Eric M. Lee, Translations : Turner and printmaking, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1993, p. 27, no. 86, NJ18 .T85 L44 1993 (YCBA)Ian Warrell, Turner, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 2025, pp. 24, 80, 119, pl. 42, NJ18 .T85 W37 2025 (YCBA)
Gallery Label:
After he abandoned his work on the Liber Studiorum in 1819, Turner began a series of mezzotints devoted to atmospheric effects. Engraved by Turner himself, these prints were based on loose and simplified watercolor studies. Turner transformed these brief sketches into finished works as he transferred them to copper or steel printing plates. In the mezzotint technique, the plate is initially roughened so that it holds ink across its surface and prints a uniform deep black. The roughness is then smoothed out or “scraped” to introduce lighter areas into the image. --- Because this process results in diffuse forms, it is usual to reinforce the mezzotint plate with etched outlines. Turner, however, selected subjects suited to a purely tonal treatment — clouds, waves, moonlight, storms, sunsets, and sunrises — enabling him to minimize the use of line. Taking full advantage of mezzotint’s ability to render every degree of light and shade, from velvety darks to pure white highlights, he created some of the most expressive prints ever made. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)