Page 208 - Swann Galleries - Old Master Through Modern Prints - Sale 2312 - May 1, 2013

266 ● JOSEPH M.W. TURNER
Gloucester Cathedral .
Mezzotint printed in dark brown on cream wove paper, circa 1825. 190x255 mm; 71/2x10
inches, wide margins. Ex-collection unknown collector, ink stamp lower right recto (not
in Lugt). From the Little Liber Studiorum . A superb, well-inked impression of this very
scarce print.
Gloucester Cathedral (also called Boston Stump or The Hare) is part of a series of 12 mezzotints
of sea and landscapes created by J. M.W.Turner (1775-1851) that have come to be known
as the Little Liber Studiorum.The mezzotints are based on original watercolors by Turner;
this particular print relates to several watercolors of Gloucester Cathedral in the Tate
Britain, London. The mezzotint composition is slightly different from the watercolors
with the addition of the vegetation in the foreground. It is traditionally assumed that
Turner created these prints himself and used the mezzotint process because it simulated
the appearance of watercolor on moist paper. In recognition of their commercial viability,
the 1820 introduction of steel mezzotint plates (as opposed to cooper, which produced
very limited quality impressions before the plate wore down and required reworking) may
have prompted Turner to make a new series of prints.
The Little Liber Studiorum is considered the unpublished “sequel” to the Liber Studiorum
series of 81 prints produced by Charles Turner and other engravers under the direction
of J.M.W. Turner. The artist himself produced 11 mezzotints in the first series and they
represent the only other group of prints engraved by Turner besides the 12 plates in the
Little Liber Studiorum.While the Liber Studiorum encompassed the entire oeuvre of Turner’s
work by mixing historical, pastoral, architectural and landscape scenes, the Little Liber
Studiorum only presents ethereal atmospheric landscapes, representative of the iconic
paintings for which he is now famous. As the Little Liber Studiorum was not published or
widely distributed, prints from this series are considered very scarce. Rawlinson 809 b.
[4,000/6,000]