Explore the ‘Crypt of Kirkstall Abbey’ with Turner and Rosie.
This colouring sheet is based on a print titled ‘Crypt of Kirkstall Abbey’ by J. M. W. Turner. It is part of a series of 71 prints that Turner produced called the ‘Liber Studiorum’.
Kirkstall abbey was a Cistercian monastery established in the 1100s. It was disestablished during the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII to make way for the establishment of his new church, the Church of England. Today, the Abbey stands as a ruin surrounded by greenery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre.
The ‘Liber Studiorum’ print series was intended to act as a compendium demonstrating the techniques Turner used for his many different landscape compositions. In the border above the original print, you can find a capital letter ‘A’. Part of Turners original classification system used for the Liber Studiorum prints, this ‘A’ denotes that Turner’s focus for this print is ‘Architecture’.
Looking at the image, we can see that Turner has captured the spacious crypt’s vaulted ceilings through a delicate use of contrasting light and shade. While tracing this piece, I found it particularly satisfying to follow how these curving lines intersected with one another to build up this structure. – Rosie
View the print on the Whitworth’s Collection Search:
A Place Between The Trees 