Description
Near Whitby, dark cliffs occupy the left and middle of Turner’s Yorkshire coastal scene, while storm waves open the right toward the sea. The meeting of solid rock and unsettled water gives the landscape a clear tension, with the coastline acting as both a boundary and a place exposed to larger forces. The scene’s identity near Whitby keeps that encounter tied to a particular stretch of shore.
Published on January 1, 1811, the work combines etching and mezzotint. J. M. W. Turner designed and etched the composition, with William Say responsible for the engraving; this impression is the second of four states. The two techniques allow the scene to be developed through both outlines and broader tonal relationships. Its interest lies in the coast as a meeting place, where solid ground and the wider marine prospect can share the same pictorial space.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the J. M. W. Turner collection.
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