The Water-Colours of J. M. W. TurnerFinberg, A. J. (Alexander Joseph)
General
The Water-Colours of J. M. W. Turner
Finberg, A. J. (Alexander Joseph)
Turner, J. M. W. (Joseph Mallord William), 1775-1851; Watercolor painting, British
One drawing only of this period is reproduced here--_Distant View of
Lichfield Cathedral_ (Plate V.). It suffers from the unavoidable
reduction in size, but it is characteristic of Turner’s altered style.
Unfortunately it has at some time been varnished, probably by the
painter himself, as have two others equally important, of the same
period--_The Refectory of Fountains Abbey_ and a replica of the _Cader
Idris_--both of which are now in America. Gainsborough treated several
of his drawings similarly, as did Girtin, Varley, Barrett and others of
the early English school, their object being avowedly to rival in
water-colour the depth and richness of oil painting. But not
unfrequently, as here in the _Lichfield_, the varnish in time
disintegrates the colouring matter and produces a curious _granulated_
look, not unlike aquatint. Indeed, the fine _Fountains Abbey_ just
alluded to was sold not many years ago at a well-known London auction
room, as a coloured aquatint, and fetched only £5.
After Turner’s election in 1799 as an Associate of the Royal Academy, he
exhibited fewer water-colours and more oil pictures, although he was
continually producing drawings, mostly of large size and on commission.
For the next few years his style did not greatly alter, although a
steady growth in power and range is visible. Several large views of
_Edinburgh_ and its neighbourhood, a series of _Fonthill_ commissioned
by Beckford, another of _Chepstow_ executed for the Earl of Harewood,
together with the Welsh castles of _Conway_, _Carnarvon_, _St. Donat’s_
and _Pembroke_, are among the most important. The _Stonehenge_
reproduced here (Plate VII.) is probably the work of about 1803-1804.
He made also during this period a few drawings for engraving, but, with
the exception of the well-known _Oxford Almanacks_, these were chiefly
on a small scale and gave him but little scope; nor was he fortunate in
his engravers until in James Basire, the engraver to the University, he
met with an artist of higher standing. The University commissioned from
Turner ten large drawings for the headings of the _Oxford Almanacks_,
all of which he executed between 1798 and 1804. They are preserved in
the University Galleries, and are noticeable alike for their
architectural draughtsmanship, their admirable composition, and their
general breadth of treatment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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