Henry le Keux (1787–1868) after J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851)
Abbotsford
1834
Line engraving, published state
Turner visited Scotland in 1831 in order to make sketches for illustrations to the Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. The trip began with a meeting between the novelist and artist at Scott’s famous, castle- like home, Abbotsford. Its turreted exterior was matched by a true Romantic interior, marked by a densely installed collection of antique furnishings, an armory, and a magnificent neo-Gothic library. Turner’s vignette brilliantly brackets a view of the house in its dramatic landscape setting with spectral outlines hinting at Abbotsford’s remarkable furnishings and atmosphere.
Mendelssohn and Klingemann also visited Scott at Abbotsford, in 1829, but were unlucky enough to find him about to depart, and able to spare the young Germans only half an hour of “superficial conversation.”
YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART, PAUL MELLON COLLECTION
B1977.14.13673