Friday, 2 January 2026

J.M.W. Turner - part 4

c1840 Portrait of J.M.W. Turner, R.A.
making his sketch for the celebrated picture of Mercury & Argus

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) is perhaps the best-loved English Romantic artist. He became known as 'the painter of light', because of his increasing interest in brilliant colours as the main constituent in his landscapes and seascapes. His works include water colours, oils and engravings.Turner was born near Covent Garden in London and entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1789. His earliest works form part of the 18th-century topographical tradition. He was soon inspired by 17th-century Dutch artists such as Willem van der Velde, and by the Italianate landscapes of Claude and Richard Wilson.

He exhibited watercolours at the Royal Academy from 1790, and oils from 1796. In 1840 he met the critic John Ruskin, who became the great champion of his work.Turner became interested in contemporary technology, as can be seen from "The Fighting Temeraire" and :Rain, Steam and Speed". At the time his free, expressive treatment of these subjects was criticised, but it is now widely appreciated. Turner bequeathed much of his work to the nation. The great majority of the paintings are now at Tate Britain.

This is part 4 of a 13-part series on the works of J.M.W. Turner: 

1802-06 Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc
watercolour, pen and ink, and scraping out on slightly textured, cream wove paper 73.3 x 113.3 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, CT

1802-8 Lake of Brienz, Moonlight
watercolour and gum arabic with scratching out on paper
27.7 x 39.3 cm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK

1803 Mer de Glace, in the Valley of Chamonix
watercolour, graphite, gum, scraping out and stopping out on paper 70.5 x 104.1 cm
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT

1803 Eton, from the Slough Road
etching and engraving with chine collé: published state on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper 29.8 x 40 cm

1803 Calais Pier, with French Poissards preparing for Sea: an English Packet arriving
oil on canvas 172 x 240 cm
The National Gallery, London

by 1803 Chateaux de St. Michael, Bonneville, Savoy
oil on canvas 91.4 x 121.9 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, CT

1803-04 A View from the Inside of Brazen Nose College Quadrangle, Oxford
watercolour over graphite, on paper 31.6 x 44.5 cm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

1803-04 A Coast Scene with Fishermen Hauling a Boat Ashore
oil on canvas 91.8 x 122.5 cm
Kenwood House, London

1803-04 Tummel Bridge, Perthshire
oil on panel 28.9 x 46.7 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, CT

1803-04 The Pass of St Gotthard, Switzerland
oil on canvas 64.2 x 80.6 cm
Birmingham Museums Trust, UK

1803-4 Quadrangle of Balliol College Quadrangle, Oxford
watercolour over graphite with som scratching-out, on paper 31.8 x 44.7 cm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

1803-04 View of the Cathedral of Christ Church, and Part of Corpus Christi College
watercolour over graphite, on paper 31.6 x 44.7 cm
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK

c1803 (or 1814-15) The St Gotthard Road between Amsteg and Wassen looking up the Reuss Valley
 gouache, graphite and watercolour on paper 67.5 x 101 cm
Tate Gallery, London

c1803 Fishing Boats Entering Calais Harbour
oil on canvas 73.7 x 98.4 cm
The Frick Collection, New York, NY

1804 The Passage of Mount St Gothard from the centre of Teufels Broch Devil’s Bridge
watercolour, with scraping out 101 x 68 cm
Lakeland Arts - Abbot Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Kendal, UK

1805 Walton Reach
oil on mahogany veneer 73.7 x 36.8 cm
Tate Britain, London

1805 View of Richmond Hill and Bridge
oil on canvas 121.9 x 91.4 cm
Tate Britain, London

1805 The Thames near Walton Bridges
oil on mahogany 73.7 x 37.1 cm
Tate Britain, London

1805 Low Tide Thames
graphite and watercolour on paper 25.6 x 36.4 cm
Tate Britain, London

c1805-07 Cows in a Landscape with a Footbridge
oil on canvas 47.9 x 71.1 cm
Tate Britain, London

1806 Abingdon
oil on canvas 101.5 x 130 cm
Tate Britain, London

1806-07 Shipping at the Mouth of the Thames
oil on canvas 85.7 x 116.8 cm
Tate Britain, London

1807 Flint Castle, Vessels Unloading
etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper 20.6 x 28.9 cm

1807 Cliveden on Thames
oil on canvas 58.4 x 28.4 cm
Tate Britain, London

1807 before Sun rising through Vapour: Fishermen cleaning and selling Fish
oil on canvas 134.5 x 179 cm
The National Gallery, London

1807 Basle
etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink: first published state on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper 29.2 x 41.6 cm

1807-12 Liber Studiorum (Book of Studies):

Frontispiece
etching and drypoint 29.21 x 39.6 cm

1806 Berry Pomeroy Castle
etching and mezzotint 19.7 x 27.3 cm

c1806-07 Bridge and Goats
etching and watercolour on paper 18 x 25 cm

c1806-07 Bridge and Cows
graphite and watercolour on paper 18.5 x 25.8 cm

1806-07 Vessels Unloading
etching, graphite and watercolour on paper 18 x 25.4 cm

1807 The Woman and Tambourine
etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink: first published state on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
25.7 x 37.8 cm

1807 Scene on the French Coast
etching and mezzotint on paper 18.4 x 25.9 cm (plate)

1807 Jason
etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink: first published state on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream laid paper 28.9 x 43.2 cm

1807 Bridge and Cows
etching and mezzotint on paper 18.2 x 26.4 cm

1807 Bridge and Cows
etching and mezzotint 27.9 x 38.7 cm

1807 Basle 
etching and mezzotint 18.4 x 26 cm (plate)

1807-08 The Straw Yard
etching and mezzotint 18.1 x 25.4 cm (sheet)

1807-19 A Roadway between Trees beside a River
graphite and watercolour on paper 23.3 x 37.6 cm
Tate Britain, London

1807-19 A River Scene with Eel Traps
pencil and watercolour 23.1 x 37.7 cm

c1807-19 A Stream or Pond with a House on its Distant Bank
pencil and watercolour on paper 23.1 x 37.5 cm
Tate Britain, London

c1807-19 A Storm at Sea: Study after 'The Bridgewater Sea Piece'
watercolour 23.1 x 32.6 cm
Tate Britain, London

c1807-19 A Sea Piece with a Breaking Wave
watercolour 23 x 37.6 cm
Tate Britain, London

c1807-19 A Lake and Hills: ?Ullswater
watercolour 23 x 37 cm
Tate Britain, London

c1807-19 A Bridge Leading into a Town: ?Richmond from Twickenham
watercolour 23 x 37.7 cm
Tate Britain, London

1807-12 Liber Studiorum (Book of Studies) continues in Part 5.



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