The Mildmay Sea-Piece (Liber Studiorum, part XIII, plate 40)
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 Annis and Easling here added mezzotint to describe a sun setting over the sea, with barrels piled on the shore near a beached fishing boat. As two sailboats move past, a woman holding a child near an anchor watches a boy running across the sand. The letter "M" in the top margin indicates Turner's category of Marine landscape.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Mildmay Sea-Piece (Liber Studiorum, part XIII, plate 40)
- Artist: Designed and etched by Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Engraver: William T. Annis (British, active 1798–1811)
- Engraver: J. C. Easling (British, active 1807–33)
- Publisher: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Date: February 11, 1812
- Medium: Etching and mezzotint; third state of four
- Dimensions: plate: 7 3/16 x 10 1/4 in. (18.3 x 26 cm)
sheet: 8 7/16 x 11 7/8 in. (21.4 x 30.2 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Mary W. Tweed, 1925
- Object Number: 29.52.17
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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