Coast of Yorkshire, Near Whitby (Liber Studiorum, part V, plate 24)

Joseph Mallord William Turner|William Say|Joseph Mallord William Turner

January 1, 1811 · Etching and mezzotint; first state of four · 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 Say here added mezzotint to define rough seas pounding a dark, rocky stretch of Yorkshire coast where stranded passengers from a wrecked ship appeal for help to figures on shore, and men wade into a sheltered foreground cove. A lighthouse punctuates the skyline and the letter "M" in the top margin indicates Turner's category of Marine landscape.

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner|William Say|Joseph Mallord William Turner

Date

January 1, 1811

Medium

Etching and mezzotint; first state of four

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928