Procris and Cephalus (Liber Studiorum, part VIII, plate 41)
Medium
Etching and mezzotint; first state of three
Dimensions
plate: 7 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (18.7 x 26.7 cm) sheet: 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (21.6 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
28.97.41
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of Romantic landscape mastery, J.M.W. Turner's *Procris and Cephalus* (1812) is plate 41 from part VIII of his ambitious *Liber Studiorum* ("Book of Studies"), a series of 71 prints that showcased his innovative approach to nature's drama. Produced as an etching and mezzotint in its rare first state of three, this work measures a compact 7 3/8 x 10 1/2 inches on the plate. Collaborating with engraver George Clint, Turner drew from classical mythology—Ovid's tale of Cephalus, who unwittingly slays his wife Procris during a forest hunt—infusing it with emotional tension am...
About the Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner|George Clint|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...