Joseph Mallord William Turner, Liber Studiorum, No 50: Mer de Glace, c.1812 Accession number:  P.3766

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

J.M.W. Turner was a renowned English painter and printmaker, well-known for his expressive use of colours that feature in his landscape and seascape works.

In 1802, Turner travelled to France and Switzerland and made over 500 sketches throughout his journey.¹ Between 1807-1819, he published a series called Liber Studiorum which included prints of Architecture, Historic, Marine, Mountainous and Pastoral scenes.² Above, the image of Mer De Glace is one of 71 works that sit within the series.

Mer De Glace (Sea of Ice) is a glacier situated on the eastern side of France, bordering Switzerland and Italy. This natural formation is 4,205m above sea level and is the third largest glacier within the European Alps.³ A New Scientist article from 2019 mentions that the glacier is shrinking at an alarming rate, losing roughly 800m in length over the last 30 years.⁴ Despite the ice shrinkage, Mer De Glace is still an extremely popular attraction with a new entrance carved into the glacier each year.

You might be wondering why I’m telling you about Turner’s work and Mer de Glace, well as an early Christmas present to all the readers here, next year will be Turner’s 250th birthday, and as such, we will be hosting an exhibition called ‘JMW Turner – In Light and Shade‘ to celebrate his work in the series Liber Studiorum.

You can find out more information through the link below:
https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/turnerinlightandshade/

Join us again tomorrow for the next instalment of Whitworth Advent.

– Jason

Bibliography

1. https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:5485
   
   
2. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/liber-studiorum-drawings-and-related-works-r1131702#entry-main
   
   
3. https://iugs-geoheritage.org/geoheritage_sites/mer-de-glace/
   
   
4. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332483-600-special-report-how-climate-change-is-melting-frances-largest-glacier/
   
   
5. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O602699/liber-studiorum-print-turner-joseph-mallord/