The Felucca (Copper Plate)

This plate was probably prepared for Turner by the engraver Henry Dawe (1790 – 1848). Turner intended the Liber to consist of 100 prints but only 71 were released. He continued working on the series long after he stopped publishing it. The design for this plate was based on a drawing dated to 1824. No prints from this plate were made during Turner’s lifetime. It, along with others, remained in Turner’s studio until his death in 1851 and were later sold. The 'Liber Studiorum' illustrated Turner’s arguments for the supremacy of landscape painting. The title means ‘book of studies’ in Latin. It contained no written text, instead it was made up of individual mezzotint prints on paper. They were released in fourteen parts from around 1807 until 1819. Turner intended the 'Liber' to consist of 100 prints but only 71 were ultimately produced. The prints reflected the five categories of landscape painting Turner believed existed: architectural, historical, marine, mountainous and pastoral. Turner wrote an initial on each work to indicate which category it belonged to.