Picturesque views in
England & Wales ďƒ§
J M W TURNER
Probably no painter before him – unless possibly Rubens – ever so completely controlled the engraving of his own pictures, or ever set himself to educate the engravers who worked for him; certainly none ever bestowed the same infinite pains on every detail of every plate. W. G. Rawlinson
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J M W TURNER Picturesque Views in England and Wales
For many people Turner is the most creative genius in the history of British art particularly with regard to his landscapes and topographical views. Around the turn of the years 1824-25 he agreed with the print-publisher Charles Heath to produce an ambitious series of drawings and watercolours after which engravings would be issued under the title Picturesque Views in England and Wales. Initially the proposal was that 120 engravings would be made in collaboration with Robert Jennings & Co. and the first prints appeared in 1827 followed by others at regular intervals over the next eleven years. A highly skilled team of experienced engravers was involved in producing the
printing plates, perhaps most notably Thomas Jeavons, Robert William Wallis, James Tibbitts Willmore and W. R. Smith, but a crucial factor in the artistic success of the resulting prints was undoubtedly the close personal attention and supervision of Turner himself during the etching/engraving process. Eventually, in 1838, the scheme was found to be commercially unsustainable but by then some 96 engravings had been published and the prints offered here are from an edition of Picturesque Views issued in that year. Turner received tremendous support from the great art critic John Ruskin both during his lifetime and afterwards, when the work of the former was often
J M W TURNER
1. Bedford
2. Windsor Castle, Berkshire
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
misunderstood, and he referred to the pictures for Picturesque Views as representing Turner’s central powers and dominant feelings . . . towards his native country.
Later in the same book (Turner Prints, 1990) Herrmann added . . . today it has firm claims to be considered the outstanding topographical print publication of the nineteenth century.
Somewhat later, writing in 1913, W. G. Rawlinson called Picturesque Views, the most brilliant and finished piece of landscape engraving which up to that time had ever been produced. This opinion was endorsed almost eighty years later by the leading Turner expert Professor Luke Herrmann who wrote, despite its commercial failure the ‘Picturesque Views in England and Wales’ was an undoubted triumph from the artistic point of view, and it has always been considered one of the greatest series of prints after Turner.
On Turner’s insistence the images were engraved on copper rather than the more hard wearing steel, on account of its ability to render particularly fine lines and subtle tones. The softness of the copper meant that the plates were quickly worn down and had to be frequently reworked – an expensive business. All engravings are approx 16 x 24 cms. PRICE £495 EACH including frame, vat and uk delivery
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3. Ludlow Castle, Shropshire
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
4. Plymouth, Devonshire
5. Salisbury, Wiltshire
6. Richmond Hill and Bridge, Surrey
7. Chatham, Kent
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8. Brinkburn Priory, Northumberland
9. Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire
10. Lyme Regis
11. Blenheim House, Oxfordshire
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PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
12. Castle Upnor, Kent
13. Laugharne Castle, Caermarthenshire
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14. Tynemouth Priory, Northumberland
15. Gosport, Hampshire
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
16. Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire
17. Buckfastleigh Abbey, Devonshire
18. Malmsbury Abbey, Wiltshire
19. Okehampton, Devonshire
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20. Crickieth Castle, North Wales
21. Rochester, Stroud and Chatham, Kent
22. Walton Bridge, Surrey
23. Richmond Terrace, Surrey
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
24. Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire
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25. Ullswater, Cumberland
26. Long Ships Lighthouse, Land's End
27. Beaumaris, Anglesea, North Wales
28. Worcester, Worcestershire
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PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
29. Lowestoffe, Suffolk
30. Margate, Kent
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31. Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
32. Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
33. Nottingham
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34. Carisbrook Castle, Isle of Wight
35. Devonport and Dock Yard, Devonshire
36. Cowes, Isle of Wight
37. Dunstanborough Castle, Northumberland
Nineteen engravers were eventually employed on this work and some engraved as many as thirteen or fourteen of the plates, while others worked on only one. Included in the group were Miller, Willmore, Goodall, Brandard and Wallis, whom Turner considered to be the best engravers of his work (along with John Pye). The work was long and tedious, and although the engravers were paid, on average, one hundred pounds for each plate engraved, the task might take up to two years: ‘. . . few have lived more solitary or more laborious lives. Bending double all through a bright, sunny day, in an attic or close work-room, over a large plate, with a powerful magnifying glass in constant use; carefully picking and cutting out bits of metal from the plate, and giving the painfully formed lines the ultimate form of some of Turner's most brilliant conceptions; working for twelve or fourteen hours daily, taking exercise rarely, in early morning or late at night; ‘proving’ a plate, only to find days of labour have been mistaken, and have to be effaced and done over again . . . such is too commonly the life of an engraver.’ (C. W. Radcliffe)
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38. Llandberis Lake, Wales
39. Leicester Abbey, Leicestershire
40. Caernarvon Castle, Wales
41. Dudley, Worcestershire
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
42. Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire
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43. Whitehaven, Cumberland
44. Lancaster, from the Aqueduct Bridge
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
45. Lancaster Sands, Lancaster
46. Winchelsea, Sussex
47. Kilgarren Castle, Pembroke, South Wales
48. Exeter
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49. Harlech Castle, North Wales
50. Flint Castle, North Wales
51. Kidwelly Castle, South Wales
52. Keswick Lake, Cumberland
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
53. Boston, Lincolnshire
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54. Llangollen, North Wales
56. Winander Mere, Westmoreland
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55. Durham Cathedral
57. Bernard Castle, Durham
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PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
58. Christ Church College, Oxford
59. Eton College, Berkshire
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60. Saltash, Cornwall
61. Aldborough, Suffolk
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
62. Louth, Lincolnshire
63. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
64. Stone Henge
65. Hampton Court Palace
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66. Carew Castle, Pembroke
67. Pembroke Castle, Wales
68. Powys Castle, Montgomery
69. Arundel Castle and Town, Sussex
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
70. Coventry, Warwickshire
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71. Entrance to Fowey Harbour, Cornwall
72. St. Mawes, Cornwall
PICTURESQUE VIEWS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
73. Stamford, Lincolnshire
74. Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
75. Holy Island, Northumberland
76. Stonyhurst, Lancashire
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77. Mount St. Michael, Cornwall
78. Orford, Suffolk
79. Straits of Dover
80. Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland
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ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ENGRAVINGS 61. 74. 69. 24. 27. 1. 57. 11. 53. 8. 17. 40. 66. 34. 12. 7. 20. 58. 70. 36. 35. 41. 37. 55. 71. 42. 59.
Aldborough, Suffolk Alnwick Castle, Northumberland Arundel Castle and Town, Sussex Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire Beaumaris, Anglesea, North Wales Bedford, Bedfordshire Bernard Castle, Durham Blenheim House, Oxfordshire Boston, Lincolnshire Brinkburn Priory, Northumberland Buckfastleigh Abbey, Devonshire Caernarvon Castle, Wales Carew Castle, Pembroke Carisbrook Castle, Isle of Wight Castle Upnor, Kent Chatham, Kent Crickieth Castle, North Wales Christ Church College, Oxford Coventry, Warwickshire Cowes, Isle of Wight Devonport and Dock Yard, Devonshire Dudley, Worcestershire Dunstanborough Castle, Northumberland Durham Cathedral Entrance to Fowey Harbour, Cornwall Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire Eton College, Berkshire
48. 50. 81. 15. 63. 65. 49. 75. 32. 52. 51. 47. 44. 45. 13. 39. 38. 54. 26. 62. 29. 3. 10. 18. 30. 77. 33.
Exeter Flint Castle, North Wales Folkestone, Kent Gosport, Hampshire Great Yarmouth, Norfolk Hampton Court Palace Harlech Castle, North Wales Holy Island, Northumberland Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire Keswick Lake, Cumberland Kidwelly Castle, South Wales Kilgarren Castle, Pembroke, South Wales Lancaster, from the Aqueduct Bridge Lancaster Sands, Lancaster Laugharne Castle, Caermarthenshire Leicester Abbey, Leicestershire Llandberis Lake, Wales Llangollen, North Wales Long Ships Lighthouse, Land's End Louth, Lincolnshire Lowestoffe, Suffolk Ludlow Castle, Shropshire Lyme Regis Malmsbury Abbey, Wiltshire Margate, Kent Mount St. Michael, Cornwall Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
19. 78. 67. 4. 68. 80. 6. 23. 21. 5. 60. 73. 72. 64. 76. 79. 9. 14. 25. 16. 22. 31. 43. 56. 46. 2. 28.
Okehampton, Devonshire Orford, Suffolk Pembroke Castle, Wales Plymouth, Devonshire Powys Castle, Montgomery Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland Richmond Hill and Bridge, Surrey Richmond Terrace, Surrey Rochester, Stroud and Chatham, Kent Salisbury, Wiltshire Saltash, Cornwall Stamford, Lincolnshire St. Mawes, Cornwall Stone Henge Stonyhurst, Lancashire Straits of Dover Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire Tynemouth Priory, Northumberland Ullswater, Cumberland Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire Walton Bridge, Surrey Warwick Castle, Warwickshire Whitehaven, Cumberland Winander Mere, Westmoreland Winchelsea, Sussex Windsor Castle, Berkshire Worcester, Worcestershire
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81. Folkestone, Kent
Goldmark Gallery, Orange Street, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9SQ Open Monday to Saturday 9.30 - 5.30, Sunday 2.30 - 5.30 and Bank Holidays www.goldmarkart.com