The Roman Tower, Andernach

1806–1819

Work on the “Liber Studiorum”

For nearly twelve years he worked on about 70 mezzotints — the “Book of Studies”, inspired by Claude’s Liber Veritatis and meant as a manifesto of British landscape art; commercially it failed because of poor handling of sales and distribution, but it did elevate the prestige of landscape painting.

1808–1824

Summers at Walter Fawkes’s Farnley Hall

From 1808 to 1824 he stayed many summers at Farnley Hall near Otley in Yorkshire with its owner Walter Fawkes, becoming almost part of the family, with a room assigned for his exclusive use.

1816

Hazlitt on the pictures of the elements

The essayist William Hazlitt wrote that Turner “delights to go back to the first chaos of the world”, when the waters were separated from the dry land and light from darkness, and described his landscapes as “pictures of nothing, and very like”: pictures of the elements of air, earth and water.

1819

First journey through Italy

He visited Turin, Milan, Rome, Venice and Naples, studying the works of Titian, Tintoretto, Raphael and contemporary Italian artists; after the trip his painting became brighter, his palette more intense, with primary colours predominating, and the Venetian theme took a special place in his work.