A Romantic Idyll: J.M.W.Turner’s Views Of Devon & Cornwall

Armed with just a sketch book and a photographic memory - Joseph Mallord William Turner left London in July 1811 and began his tour of the South Coast at Poole in Dorset then went through to Devon and finally Cornwall travelling along the Cornish coast to Land’s End returning via Watchet in Somerset where he went in land to London by coach. The whole journey took 8 weeks. 

Turner was not creating paintings of his travels to the West Country speculatively – he had been commissioned to make a series of paintings by his publisher W.B.Cooke to be made into engravings to sell.  

In this lecture Wallace looks at how Turner’s paintings conveyed the romance of this unspoilt part of England with its castles, cliffs, rivers and working harbours, all created with an exaggeration of scale and perspective which amplified the message of romance in the viewers imagination.  They inspired him to produce watercolours which were made into prints that were highly lucrative for the artist. Wallace compares the paintings, sketchbooks and prints Turner made from this journey.

The lecture also looks at the watercolour studies that show Turner was inspired by the drama for the coast line of Devon and Cornwall to push the limits of his watercolour technique and make bold experiments in that medium which would not look out of place on gallery walls today.

One of a series of 6 monthly lectures by Catherine Wallace. Check out the talks tab on our website for information on the other lectures.

Buy a full-price ticket to all 6 lectures by Catherine Wallace (not including Art of War: Artists of the Second World War) and receive a £1.40 discount on each ticket. The tickets must be bought in the same transaction for this discount to be applied. 

A Romantic Idyll: J.M.W.Turner’s Views Of Devon & Cornwall 

Thursday 25th September 6.00pm - 7:00pm

Cost: £13/£10

A £1 Poly Fund payment is added to each ticket sold. A 50p booking fee is also applied per ticket for online and telephone transactions.