Christ and the Woman of Samaria, part XIV, plate 71 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 Reynolds here added mezzotint to describe a scene from the Gospel of John 4:4-26, where Jesus encounters a Samitarian woman by a well. After asking for a drink, he reveals that his teachings offers sustenance of a different type. Approaching figures on the road represent the disciples returning from town with food, while the classical setting derives from a work by Poussin, and the letter "H" in the upper margin places the work within Turner's category of Historical landscape.
Artwork Details
- Title: Christ and the Woman of Samaria, part XIV, plate 71 from "Liber Studiorum"
- Series/Portfolio: Liber Studiorum
- Artist: Designed and etched by Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Engraver: Samuel William Reynolds, the elder (British, London 1773–1835 London)
- Publisher: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Date: January 1, 1819
- Medium: Etching and mezzotint; fifth state of five (Finberg)
- Dimensions: plate: 7 1/4 x 10 3/8 in. (18.4 x 26.4 cm)
sheet: 8 1/4 x 11 7/16 in. (21 x 29.1 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.97.71
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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