London from Greenwich (Liber Studiorum, part V, plate 26)
Medium
Etching and mezzotint; first state of four
Dimensions
plate: 7 x 10 9/16 in. (17.8 x 26.8 cm) sheet: 8 1/4 x 11 1/2 in. (21 x 29.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
Accession Number
28.97.26
Tags
Art Historical Context
Joseph Mallord William Turner’s *London from Greenwich* belongs to his ambitious *Liber Studiorum* series, published in parts between 1807 and 1819. Intended as a visual encyclopedia of landscape types, the project allowed Turner to explore atmospheric effects and the interplay of architecture with nature. This 1811 print, plate 26 of part V, presents a sweeping view of London from Greenwich Hill, capturing the city’s spires and domes along the Thames in a moment of quiet grandeur. The work is an etching and mezzotint, the first of four states. Turner typically etched the outlines himself, wh...
About the Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner|Charles Turner|Joseph Mallord William Turner · 1775–1851
Joseph Mallord William Turner, born on 23 April 1775 in London's Covent Garden to barber William Turner and Mary Marshall, emerged as a child prodigy amid personal hardships. His mother suffered mental illness and died in Bethlem Hospital in 1804, while his father supported his early sketches by displaying them in his shop. Around age 10, Turner stayed with his uncle Joseph Mallord William Marshal...