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Print made by Thomas Goff Lupton, 1791–1873, British, The Eddystone Lighthouse, 1824
- Title:
- The Eddystone Lighthouse
- Part Of:
- Date:
- 1824
- Materials & Techniques:
- Mezzotint; engraver's proof, Turner's copies on medium, slightly textured, beige laid paper
- Dimensions:
- Sheet: 14 7/8 × 21 5/8 inches (37.8 × 54.9 cm), Plate: 10 3/8 × 14 1/8 inches (26.4 × 35.9 cm), Image: 8 1/4 × 12 1/4 inches (21 × 31.1 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed in graphite, upper left: "R. 771"; lower left: "The Eddystone Lighthouse"; inscribed on verso in graphite, lower right" Edystone Lighthouse | Engraver's proof"
Collector's mark: W. G. Rawlinson (Lugt 2624)
Lettered below image, lower left: "Drawn by J.M.W. Turner R.A. | J M W Turner's Copies."; lower right: "Engraved by Thomas Lupton"; lower center: "London, Published March 1, 1824 by W. B. Cooke 9. Soho Square"
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B1977.14.8297
- Classification:
- Prints
- Collection:
- Prints and Drawings
- Associated Places:
- Cornwall | Eddystone Lighthouse | England | United Kingdom
- Access:
- On view
- Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:30963
- Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
This mezzotint depicts powerful waves crashing against the Eddystone Lighthouse near Plymouth. The shattered mast of a sinking ship fills the foreground, its rigging pulled loose and caught by the force of the wind. The drama of the scene is enhanced by the virtuosic exploitation of the mezzotint medium, with its emphatic contrasts of light and dark, which are most notable in the lighthouse lantern and the crescent moon that illuminates the cloud-filled night sky. The first and only published example from an abandoned print series, it dates from around the time Turner is thought to have begun work on the “Little Liber” plates. Given its parallels in tone, form, and handling, it is possible that this print may have inspired their similarly expressive use of the mezzotint medium. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)
J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]
Behold the Sea (Yale Center for British Art, 2003-06-14 - 2003-09-07) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]
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