Joseph Mallord William Turner

Engraved:
(see main catalogue text)

The publication of this subject as ‘Shields Lighthouse’ first occurs in Rawlinson’s catalogue of Turner’s engravings,1 presumably by association with the superficially similar moonlit composition of Shields, on the River Tyne, engraved in 1823 for the Rivers of England from a watercolour of that year (Tate D18155; Turner Bequest CCVIII V).2 The lighthouse shown in the latter appears to be the Low Light Tower, on a square plan with a broad, shallow upper level for the windows revealing its light. It still stands on the Fish Quay at North Shields, on the north bank of the River Tyne east of Newcastle, and is shown in the Rivers of England design from upstream with the busy industrial South Shields foreshore on the right. The lighthouse in the present composition appears to be a more generic, tapering tower with a tall glass lantern, seen on the horizon across an empty bay or estuary with little else indicated by way of topographical context.

The composition was engraved in mezzotint,3 traditionally ascribed to Turner himself (see the ‘Little Liber’ introduction). The steel plate was found in his studio after his death, ‘completely corroded’.4 Dupret notes that it was sold in ‘1873–74’, without giving further details; possibly it was the plate called ‘Seapiece, with Shipping at Night’ in the 24 March 1873 Christie’s sale of prints from Turner’s studio5 (see the Introduction). The development of the design through three trial proof stages is described by Rawlinson and Dupret, who mention the present watercolour as the source.6 At first the moon was very large and bright, and surrounded by a clear-cut halo and rays, as in the watercolour; then a buoy was added in the right foreground (not present in the watercolour) and other details were toned down and lightened; finally, the diameter of the moon was reduced. Luke Herrmann has noted that this process shows ‘Turner’s skill in developing his ideas direct on the steel plate’7 here and elsewhere in the ‘Little Liber’. Tate’s impression (T04915) is a late nineteenth-century one, and is very muted and dim due to the poor condition of the plate.8