The Fifth Plague of Egypt (Liber Studiorum, part III, plate 16)
June 10, 1808
Medium
Etching and mezzotint; third state of three
Dimensions
plate: 7 1/8 x 10 1/4 in. (18.1 x 26 cm) sheet: 8 1/8 x 11 1/2 in. (20.6 x 29.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edwin De T. Bechtel, 1951
Accession Number
51.648.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
This dramatic print, *The Fifth Plague of Egypt*, belongs to J.M.W. Turner’s ambitious *Liber Studiorum* series, published in parts between 1807 and 1819. Designed by Turner and engraved in collaboration with Charles Turner, the work forms plate 16 of part III. Created as both an artistic statement and a teaching tool, the *Liber* explored various categories of landscape, from historical and mountainous to pastoral and architectural scenes. Rendered in etching and mezzotint, the third state of three, the image captures a biblical moment—the fifth plague—with striking atmospheric force. Pyrami...
About the Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner|Charles 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...