The Fifth Plague of Egypt, plate 16 from Liber Studiorum
published June 10, 1808
Medium
Mezzotint and etching in brown on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 18 × 25.8 cm (7 1/8 × 10 3/16 in.); Plate: 20.8 × 28.8 cm (8 3/16 × 11 3/8 in.); Sheet: 29.2 × 42.6 cm (11 1/2 × 16 13/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
71664
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
J. M. W. Turner’s paintings epitomized the sublime, a sense of awe-inspiring beauty beyond simple loveliness. His evocative etching and mezzotint print series, the Liber Studiorum (1807–19), was just as influential. Printed in sepia lines and tonal areas evoking Old Master drawing ink and modeling, Turner’s series of 71 prints is an extended ode to the landscape. The letters above each work designate the subject type, including architectural (A), pastoral (P) and elevated pastoral (EP), and hist...
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...