Travels, Light & Landscape

The Felucca, a rare print by J.M.W. Turner. Photo credit: National Museum Liverpool.

Known for his landscape painting, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851) is considered one of Britain’s greatest artists.

Now at Liverpool’s Lady Lever Gallery, the new exhibition Turner: travels, light and landscape celebrates the artist by showing some 30 Turner watercolors, paintings and prints drawn from National Museums Liverpool’s own Turner collection. The exhibition runs until June 1, 2014.

“Turner strove to invigorate landscape painting with a new sense of relevance and vitality,” says Charlotte Keenan, curator of works on paper.

“The works we have on display reveal how Turner used landscapes to depict the changes emerging in British society, with the energy and power conveyed in scenes such as Dudley contrasting strongly to the idyllic Richmond Terrace .”

An especially noteworthy piece is a rare Turner print and its copper etching plate. The rare print, The Felucca (above), is the first of only 30 ever made and is part of the Liber Studiorum series.

Themed chronologically, the exhibition first explores Turner’s early career represented with prints and watercolors featuring depictions of Linlithgow Palace , Wells Cathedral and Whalley Abbey. In the period, between 1794-1819, Turner’s travel and art were limited to a small selection of European locations including Basle, Lake Nemi and Genzano .

While in the period 1816-1833, Turner’s work shows the rapidly changing British landscape like the watercolor Dudley which shows a town in the “throes of industrial change set against the backdrop of a traditional landscape.”

This section of the exhibition shows Turner’s move to a more abstract style with studies of light and atmosphere. Then the final section looks at Turner’s later works and his influence including Hackfall and The Fighting Temeraire, which are believed to be painted in the style of Turner.

Find out more at www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/turner.