Mêr de Glace, Valley of Chamouni-Savoy, part X, plate 50 from "Liber Studiorum"
Turner distilled his ideas about landscape In "Liber Studiorum" (Latin for Book of Studies), a series of seventy prints plus a frontispiece published between 1807 and 1819. To establish the compositions, he made brown watercolor drawings, then etched outlines onto copper plates. This is one of the few instances where Turner also developed the tone, here using mezzotint to detail an image of glacier developed from sketches made in Switzerland near the St. Gothard pass. Working experimentally, he rocked only part of the plate to create the darks, rather than following conventional mezzotint practice, where the plate is rocked completely, and highlights creates by scraping and burnishing. The "M" in the upper margin refers to Turner's category of Mountainous landscape.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mêr de Glace, Valley of Chamouni-Savoy, part X, plate 50 from "Liber Studiorum"
- Series/Portfolio: Liber Studiorum
- Artist and publisher: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
- Date: May 23, 1812
- Medium: Etching and mezzotint; third state of five (Finberg)
- Dimensions: plate: 7 x 10 in. (17.8 x 25.4 cm)
sheet: 8 9/16 x 11 5/8 in. (21.7 x 29.5 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.97.50
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.