| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | James Basire after Joseph Mallord William Turner |
| Published | [Oxford 1808] |
| Dimensions | Image 325 x 450 mm, Plate 385 x 485 mm, Sheet 520 x 630 mm |
| Notes |
A view of Oxford from the south side of Headington Hill. The spires of the city can be seen stretched out in the distance, in the foreground a horse drawn carriage coach can be seen carrying passengers towards the city. Trees frame the scene either side of the image. James Basire II (1769 - 1822) was a British engraver. His work is similar in style to that of his father, the engraver James Basire I (1730-1802). His apprentices included Henry Le Keux (1787 - 1868), who engraved the Oxford Almanacks between 1832 and 1839. Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 - 1851) was a painter and draughtsman who became one of the most celebrated artists Britain would ever produce. He was born near Covent Garden, London, and entered the Royal Academy Schools in December of 1789. The Academy, conscious of his prodigious talent, encouraged and supported Turner. He was elected as an Associate of the RA in 1799, and became a full Academician in 1802. His early oil painting flitted between Netherlandish works in the manner of Cuyp, Ruisdael and Van de Velde, classical landscapes like those of Claude and Richard Wilson, and, upon returning from his Parisian visit in 1802, grand historical compositions like those of Poussin and Titian. The development of his idiosyncratic style, commonly held to have been around 1803, led to critical condemnation. His preoccupation with light and colour produced abstract, near vorticistic works, which predated Impressionism, but were hugely controversial in the conformist context of late Georgian and early Victorian England. Whilst some critics accused Turner of extravagance and exaggeration, John Ruskin virulently thwarted these claims in Modern Painters, and championed the artist's fidelity to nature. Ruskin became the main advocate of a new generation of Turner admirers, usually professional, middle class, or newly wealthy, who embraced his work for its modernity. An enormously prolific artist, Turner bequeathed over three hundred oils and close to twenty thousand drawings and prints to the nation. His style produced many imitators, but no rivals. Condition: Printed on india laid paper. Toning from previous mount. Glue residue to margins. Tears and losses to margins from previous mount adhesive. |
| Framing | mounted |
| Price | £400.00 |
| Stock ID | 53395 |