By J.M.W. Turner
Located in Plano, TX
Solitude. 1814. Published by J.M.W. Turner, ?1 January 1816 although dated 12 May 1814. Etching and mezzotint. Finberg 53.ii/vii. Series: Liber Studiorum. Image: 7 x 10 1/4; plate: 8 x 11 3/8; sheet: 10 1/2 x 14 1/2. Drawn and etched by J.M.W Turner. Engraved (mezzotinted) by 'W.Say, Engraver to H.H.H. the Duke of Gloucester' (William Say. 1768 – 1834). With the blindstamp of the 1873 Turner collection sale at Christie's, in the plate just before the text 'Engraved by William Say'. A fine impression printed in sepia ink, on cream wove paper with full margins. Signed with the artists' names in the plate.
It is one of eleven published Liber subjects in Turner’s ‘EP’ (‘Elevated Pastoral’ or 'Epic Pastoral') category, as denoted by the letters ‘EP’ above the image.
The Tate website comments: "This is one of the published plates of the Liber Studiorum, a series of prints that Turner produced between 1807 and the early 1820s. The image was first etched in outline by Turner himself, and the gradations of light and shade were then introduced in mezzotint, in this case by William Say. The title Solitude is not Turner's own. His only reference to the subject suggests that he may have wanted to link the reclining woman with Mary Magdalene, although he places her not in a Biblical landscape but in an unlikely Arcadian setting...
Category
1810s Romantic J.M.W. Turner Art
MaterialsEtching, Mezzotint