The Alcove, Isleworth, part XIII, plate 63 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, then etched outlines onto copper plates. Professional engravers usually developed the tone under Turner's direction, and Dawe here added mezzotint to describe a classical pavilion which he may relate to one at Syon Park. Turner lived at Sion (or Syon) Ferry House, Isleworth, on the Thames between 1805 and 1806, and this image derives from sketches he made along the river. Naturalistic observations of the English countrside are combined with idealized classical elements, and the scene bathed in a golden evening light. A bright reflected sail on the far shore recalls "White House, Chelsea," a famous watercolor by Turner's close friend Thomas Girtin, who had died tragically young in 1804. The letters "EP" in the upper margin likely stand for Elevated Pastoral and were applied by Turner to landscapes within the set that echo the Arcadian sensibility of Claude.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Alcove, Isleworth, part XIII, plate 63 from "Liber Studiorum"
- Series/Portfolio: Liber Studiorum
- Artist: Designed and etched by Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Engraver: Henry Edward Dawe (British, London 1790–1848 Windsor)
- Publisher: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Published in: London
- Date: January 1, 1819
- Medium: Etching and mezzotint; second state of four (Finberg)
- Dimensions: plate: 7 1/4 x 10 3/8 in. (18.4 x 26.4 cm)
sheet: 8 1/4 x 11 9/16 in. (21 x 29.4 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.97.63
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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