The Source of the Arvaron in the Valley of Chamouni, Savoy, part XII, plate 60 from "Liber Studiorum"
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 and here, unusually, entrusted the preliminary etching to Dawe before applying mezzotint himself to develop tone. Based on sketches made during Turner's 1802 Swiss tour, the image represents a glacier fronted by pines and bolders, with slopes behind plunging towards a sunlit valley and a chain of snow capped peaks. Turner likely intended the composition to pair with "Mill Near the Grand Chartreuse" (no. 54), and applied the letter "M" in the upper margin to indicate his category of Mountainous landscape.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Source of the Arvaron in the Valley of Chamouni, Savoy, part XII, plate 60 from "Liber Studiorum"
- Series/Portfolio: Liber Studiorum
- Artist: Designed and engraved by Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Etcher: Probably etched by Henry Edward Dawe (British, London 1790–1848 Windsor)
- Publisher: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Date: January 1, 1816
- Medium: Etching and mezzotint; first state of three
- Dimensions: plate: 7 3/4 x 10 5/8 in. (19.7 x 27 cm)
sheet: 8 7/16 x 11 1/2 in. (21.4 x 29.2 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.97.60
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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