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Joseph Mallord William Turner; after; 1856; England
Overview
This volume of works on paper consists of twelve mezzotints created by Thomas Goff Lupton (1791 – 1873) after drawings by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851), an artist known for his Romantic landscapes and focus on maritime subjects. The mezzotints depict twelve English harbours and showcase Turner's imaginative representation of landscapes, turbulent seas, and local activities. Of significance to Te Papa's collection is Turner's influence on nineteenth-century European landscape painting and the early landscape traditions of New Zealand, which in turn shaped perceptions of national identity for a newly formed nation. Thomas Goff Lupton, the engraver and a member of the Royal Academy, was known for his advancements in mezzotint engraving, particularly his innovation of steel plates which increased efficiencies in print production in the Industrial age.
The volume, titled Turner's Harbours of England - Plates, is based on an 1856 publication called The Harbours of England by Turner and Ruskin, featuring mezzotints of Turner's original watercolours. The project was initially conceived as The Ports of England a volume of twenty-five Turner drawings for serial publication. The project was stalled and later resumed by Lupton after Turner’s death under a new title, with twelve of Turner's drawings of harbours accompanied by text from John Ruskin, a prominent art critic and Turner enthusiast.
In this view of Dover, Turner presents, under a moody sky, an emotive panorama which includes Dover’s topography, antiquities, traditional labour and a variety of watercraft upon a roiling sea punctuated with two small seabirds. The White Cliffs of Dover appear on the left, with the town settlement at the foot of the cliffs and the Napoleonic-era citadel on the top. To the right, atop the hill sits the medieval Dover Castle with the Roman lighthouse, a ruin dating to 46 – 40 AD and one of the best-preserved of its kind. Turner captures the view from the sea at the entrance to the active harbour with multiple types of watercraft. In the left foreground, traditional fisherman labour in three small boats, rowing or hauling their catch. To right are three ship types. The square sails of the vessel in front suggest it is a Deal Lugger, a working boat from the neighboring port of Deal. There is a tall-mast schooner, possibly Royal Navy, and, in the center of the composition, a steam-packet leaving the harbour. Industrial subject matter, including steam ships, railway trains, factories, and pollution, appear throughout Turner’s oeuvre but this steamship is the only representation of industrialization present in this volume. This picture embodies Turner’s characteristic use of history and topography to evoke meaning. In Dover, Turner tells a story of time blending history, tradition, technology and Empire and, with the steamship at the center of the composition, suggests Turner’s focus was on the future.