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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.
An evocative maritime scene shows the busy port of Sheerness to the left and a warship at anchor, under a darkened sky, on the right. Several brigs and yachts occupy the center of the composition, their sails tense with wind. Sheerness on the Nore is recognized as an exceptional example of Turner's technique and Romantic style. Art historian and Turner scholar Gillian Forrester has observed that the technical qualities and marine subjects suggest a link between works by Turner including Entrance of Calais Harbour (1816), and the series The Ports of England (1824 – 1828) and Marine Views (1824 - 1825).
At the time of publication in 1856, the plate of Sheerness on the Nore was singled out from the collection by both John Ruskin and The Art Journal for being, not only the best of the series, but one of Turner’s finest marinescapes.
The article in The Art Journal continues to describe the plate in glowing terms.
We are again at sea off the harbour, which appears in the distance on the left, where are also seen a cutter and a light collier brig, both going to sea; while on the right is seen moored a ship of the line. A stiff breeze is blowing; and from the short crisp seas we understand that we are in an estuary. On the right the sky is darkened, and a wedge-like scudding shadow is thrown across the near section of water, and sea to the right distance. This plate is really full of grandeur, suffering in nowise from the enfeebling sparkle of distributed light.