Martello Towers Near Bexhill, Sussex, plate 34 from Liber Studiorum
published June 1811
Medium
Etching and engraving in brown on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 17.7 × 26 cm (7 × 10 1/4 in.); Plate: 20.7 × 28.8 cm (8 3/16 × 11 3/8 in.); Sheet: 29.8 × 44.3 cm (11 3/4 × 17 7/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
95407
Art Historical Context
Joseph Mallord William Turner created this evocative print as plate 34 in his ambitious Liber Studiorum series, published in June 1811. The project, which spanned over a decade, allowed Turner to explore and categorize various types of landscape through the medium of print, elevating the status of landscape art in British culture. Here, the coastal scene near Bexhill, Sussex, captures the quiet strength of Martello towers—defensive structures that dotted the English shoreline during a period of national vigilance. Rendered in etching and engraving in brown ink on ivory wove paper, the work de...
About the Artist
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...