Description
The Greek hero Jason climbs a fallen tree toward the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece in this dramatic landscape. The surrounding woodland makes the encounter more than a contest between two figures, giving the hero’s approach a setting of obstructed space and natural forms. Turner allows mythological action to grow out of the terrain through which Jason must move.
Published on June 11, 1807, the etching and mezzotint belongs to the first part of Liber Studiorum. J. M. W. Turner designed and etched the image, with Charles Turner responsible for the engraved tone; this is the first of five states. The Metropolitan Museum connects the subject with the Argonaut story while retaining some uncertainty about its precise literary version. The landscape carries much of the drama, making Jason’s movement through it a substantial part of the heroic encounter.
Read our guide to giclée prints, browse the Turner collection, or explore Solitude, or The Reading Magdalen.
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