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A Limekiln at Briton Ferry

image © Guy Peppiatt Fine Art | All Rights Reserved

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Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)

Collection

Guy Peppiatt Fine Art

Description

Watercolour over traces of pencil. This recently rediscovered watercolour by Turner was bought at auction in 1844 and has been in the John Murray collection ever since. Turner visited the area on his tour of South Wales in the summer of 1795 and this studio work is likely to date from later the same year. It was drawn from what was once a small promontory on the western bank of the River Neath looking towards Briton Ferry with the moon rising above the slopes of the Briton Ferry Wood above the village, looking beyond towards the larger hill of Mynydd-y-Gaer in the distance. The area is now much changed with the M4 and A48 bridges now dominating the landscape. A pencil sketchbook of the limekiln is in Turner’s South Wales sketchbook in the Turner Bequest, Tate Gallery (TBXXVI, D00566) as well as other views of Briton Ferry and the area.

Turner appears to be painting a corona or aureole around the Moon which is quite often seen when the Moon is hidden, partially or fully, by cloud. The water droplets in the clouds cause diffraction effects and sometimes coloured rings of light.

Educated at Charterhouse, John Murray III joined the family publishing house, which had been founded by his grandfather, in 1828, based, as it still is, at 50 Albemarle St, Mayfair. In 1836, he launched a series of travel guides of European countries and in 1843 took over the running of the family firm on the death of his father. He ran the firm until his death in 1892 publishing many notable authors including David Livingstone and Charles Darwin. Murray's relationship with the artist is documented by letters in the John Murray Archive now in the National Library of Scotland.

Image Licence

All Rights Reserved

Image Credit

image © Guy Peppiatt Fine Art

Location

Briton Ferry, Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Country

Medium

Tags

Beaches
Boats
Construction
Crafts
Fishing
Manufacturing
Rivers

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Industries & Professions

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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform