Ben Arthur, Scotland (Liber Studiorum, part XIV, plate 69)

Joseph Mallord William Turner|Thomas Goff Lupton|Joseph Mallord William Turner

January 1, 1819 · Etching and mezzotint; second state of three (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 Lupton here added mezzotint to describe a steep ravine next to the mountain known in Gaelic as Beinn Artair, one of the most impressive peaks in the Scottish Highlands. Dramatic shifts of light created by rapidly changing weather dramatizes the scene, while the letter "M" in the upper margin indicates Turner's category of Mountainous landscape.

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner|Thomas Goff Lupton|Joseph Mallord William Turner

Date

January 1, 1819

Medium

Etching and mezzotint; second state of three (Finberg)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928