after Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Mew Stone

1816

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
After Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Medium
Intaglio print on paper
Dimensions
Image: 160 x 240 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Purchased 1988
Reference
T05392

Display caption

These two versions of 'The Mew Stone',
a small island to the east of the Plymouth Sound, demonstrate two stages in the printmaking process.

 

This first, known as an 'open etching',
is the earliest step towards the finished print. The engraver, William Bernard Cooke, has translated Turner's original watercolour into an outline composition using fine etching only. The copper plate is now ready to be overlaid with engraved lines and possibly more heavily etched areas to build up the tonal depth and finish and to add fine detail (see below).

 

Gallery label, September 2004

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