Print made by Thomas Goff Lupton, 1791–1873, Britishafter Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, BritishPublished by Colnaghi, established 1760, active ca. 1785–1911, Italian, active in Britain
Title:
The Source of the Arveron in the Valley of Chamouni, Savoy
Date:
1860
Materials & Techniques:
Etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink; finished state on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 13 3/8 × 17 7/8 inches (34 × 45.4 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Lettered below image: "Drawn by J.M.W.Turner, R.A. | Engraved by Thos. Lupton | THE SOURCE OF THE AVERON IN THE VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI SAVOY. | Proof | London, Published 1860 by P&D Colnaghi & Co. 13 & 14 Pall Mall East, & the Engraver 4 Keppel St. W.C. | No. 2"
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.8214
Classification:
Prints
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Currently On View:
Not on view
Gallery Label:
According to Turner, all landscapes belong to one of six fundamental categories: Architectural, Historical, Marine, Mountainous, Pastoral, and Elevated Pastoral. These prints are part of a systematic publication, the Liber Studiorum (“Book of Studies”), containing examples from each of these categories. This work provides further testimony to the enduring influence of Claude Lorrain. Claude made sepia ink and wash drawings to record all his authentic compositions and brought them together to form his celebrated Liber Veritatis (“Book of Truth”). These drawings came to be seen as the epitome of the art of landscape and were later reproduced as fine mezzotints. They inspired Turner to make his own, even more ambitious equivalents. Though imitating the format and sepia coloring of Claude’s drawings, Turner’s plates were intended not as a record of his paintings but to illustrate his own original theory of landscape art. Although never completely finished, the Liber Studiorum is among the artist’s most personal and pioneering contributions to the practice of printmaking. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)