Catania, Sicily

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Artist: J. M. W. Turner (British, 1775–1851)
Medium: Mezzotint; 1872 impression on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Size: Plate: 7 5/8 × 10 inches (19.4 × 25.4 cm)
Museum: Yale Center for British Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

After he abandoned his work on the Liber Studiorum in 1819, Turner began a series of mezzotints devoted to atmospheric effects. Engraved by Turner himself, these prints were based on loose and simplified watercolor studies. Turner transformed these brief sketches into finished works as he transferred them to copper or steel printing plates. In the mezzotint technique, the plate is initially roughened so that it holds ink across its surface and prints a uniform deep black.

The roughness is then smoothed out or “scraped” to introduce lighter areas into the image. Because this process results in diffuse forms, it is usual to reinforce the mezzotint plate with etched outlines. Turner, however, selected subjects suited to a purely tonal treatment — clouds, waves, moonlight, storms, sunsets, and sunrises — enabling him to minimize the use of line. Taking full advantage of mezzotint’s ability to render every degree of light and shade, from velvety darks to pure white highlights, he created some of the most expressive prints ever made.

Text: Yale Center for British Art.