Description
Large Gothic arches rise at the left of this Rivaux Abbey print, designed and etched by J. M. W. Turner with engraving by Henry Edward Dawe. A tall window and ruined walls extend through the center, while trees occupy the right. The broken architecture gives the Yorkshire landscape a particular presence, joining human history to the surrounding growth and open space.
Published on May 23, 1812, the etching and mezzotint belongs to Liber Studiorum, Turner’s series exploring different kinds of landscape. The printed work joins a linear design to a tonal surface, giving the architecture a material setting distinct from a painted view. Its interest lies in the relationship between a historical structure and the world around it. An abbey becomes a subject through which landscape can be encountered as a place shaped by time and human presence.
Read our guide to giclée prints, browse the Turner collection, or explore Solitude, or The Reading Magdalen.
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