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Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
JOSEPH M. W. TURNER Aesacus and Hesperie.
Mezzotint and engraving printed in dark reddish brown with additions in white tempera on cream laid paper, circa 1817-18. 215x293 mm; 8 1/4x11 3/8 inches, wide margins. First state (of 6). Ex-collection unknown collector, ink stamp verso (not in Lugt). From the Liber Studiorum. A superb, richly-inked impression of this very scarce print, with the artist's corrections in tempera.
Aesacus and Hesperie is part of a series of 81 mezzotints created by Turner (1775-1851) and other printmakers, after his oils, that have come to be known as the Liber Studiorum. These mezzotints are based on original watercolors by Turner, which are turn derived from his paintings, essentially a visual catalgue raisonné of all his works. It's assumed that Turner approved of the mezzotint process as it simulated the appearance of watercolor on moist paper and, in recognition of their commercial viability. The 1820 introduction of steel mezzotint plates (as opposed to cooper, which produced very limited quality impressions before the plate wore down and required reworking) may have prompted him to issue these prints.
The Liber Studiorum series was produced primarily by Charles Turner and other engravers under the direction of J.M.W. Turner, with Turner himself working on 11 of the plates (including this one). Turner also produced the 12 additional plates which comprise the Little Liber Studiorum, a series of prints that was a sequel to the Liber Studiorum. The Liber Studiorum encompassed the entire oeuvre of Turner's work by mixing historical, pastoral, architectural and landscape scenes, while the Little Liber Studiorum presents ethereal atmospheric landscapes, representative of the iconic paintings for which he is now famous.
There is another unique impression of Aesacus and Hesperie by Turner, actually printed on top of one of his landscape watercolors, now in the Tate, London (accession number D08166).
In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Aesacus was a young man who was turned into a diving bird in order to thwart his attempts to kill himself for the love of Hesperie. Finberg 66.
