Crossing the Brook
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: exhibited 1815
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1930 x 1651 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Crossing the Brook” by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Painted in 1815, it shows the Tamar valley in Devon, South West England, with a bridge—Calstock Bridge—spanning the river and a smattering of mining works above it. Turner layers warm light and a long‑distance view framed by trees, echoing the classic pastoral scenes of Claude Lorrain that were still popular among collectors of the day. The work was shown the same year as the Battle of Waterloo, so viewers would have picked up on the patriotic undertones celebrating Britain’s landscape and productive land. It’s an oil on canvas that later became part of the Turner Bequest in 1856. The painting has appeared in several retrospectives, from the 2001 “Painting the English Landscape” show to the recent “Turner & Constable: Rivals & Originals” exhibition. The scene feels both timeless and distinctly British, a quiet tribute to the country’s natural beauty.
See it in person
Crossing the Brook is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
