Etched by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, BritishEngraved by Charles Turner, 1774–1857, Britishafter Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, British
Title:
Original Sketch of a Picture for W. Leader, Esq.
Date:
1809
Materials & Techniques:
Etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 7 × 10 1/8 inches (17.8 × 25.7 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed on mount in graphite, lower left: "20"; lower right: "1st State"; inscribed on verso in graphite, lower center: "41"; lower right: "20"; inscribed on verso of mount, lower left: "J.M.W.Turer - C.Turner March 29 1809"; lower center: "late 1st no rework on flag of foreground boat"; lower right: "The Leader Sea Piece / The Guardship at the Nore / West Towne Oct 36"
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.14018
Classification:
Prints
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
clouds | sea | wind | sailboat
Currently On View:
Not on view
Gallery Label:
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)