Mt. St. Gothard (Liber Studiorum, part II, plate 9)

Joseph Mallord William Turner|Charles Turner

February 20, 1808 · Etching and mezzotint; first state of six (Finberg) · Drawings and Prints

Turner distilled his ideas about landscape In "Liber Studiorum" (Latin for Book of Studies), a series of seventy prints plus a frontispiece published between 1807 and 1819. To establish the compositions, he made brown watercolor drawings, then etched outlines onto copper plates. Professional engravers usually developed the tone under Turner's direction, and Charles Turner here added mezzotint to describe alpine cliffs plunging down into a steep ravine with a river far below. In the foreground a laden mule stands at one end of a tunnel cut through the rock, with a tiny figure seen at the far end. The letters "MS" in the upper margin indicate Turner's category of Mountainous landscape.

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner|Charles Turner

Date

February 20, 1808

Medium

Etching and mezzotint; first state of six (Finberg)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928