J.M.W. Turner

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The Presentation

1. Self-Portrait 1798, oil on canvas, 29” x 23”, Tate Gallery, London

Turner painted only two self-portraits and exhibited neither. This portrait, painted at age 23, shows him in a more flattering appearance than anyone elseʼs portraits of him. Turner was already successful and thus he portrayed himself in all the finery of a young English gentleman. Visually he emerges from the darkened space, shining like a bright light, looking into the future. This treatment of light foreshadows Turnerʼs career, where it was a driving force in his romantic depiction of dramatic scenes.

The eyes are the emphasized feature; they gaze directly at the viewer and yet beyond. Note the contrast of the artistʼs face, hair and cravat against the dark, negative background. Turner is setting the mood and expressing his feelings Where are the areas of about his artistic standing at the time. He achieves this through contrasts of greatest contrast? color, value and shape.

2. Fishermen at Sea 1796, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, Tate Gallery, London

By the age of 21, Turner had already exhibited at the Royal Academy for seven years, but this was his first oil painting. It attracted critical notice as “proof of an original mind” because the seascape was quite unconventional. The eerily moonlit scene contains three different kinds of light: moonlight through the clouds (here we see his inexperience in oils, the clouds seem to continue behind the moon), moonlight reflected off a stormy sea (Turner frequently returned to the theme of nature in one of its violent moods), and the glow of the shipsʼ lanterns, which reflects the men What do you call a painting in the boat struggling to escape the darkness that surrounds them. with this subject matter?

Turnerʼs leitmotiv (leading motif) is stated in this piece and repeated in many variations for the rest of his life. He shows us the dynamic power of water and manʼs struggle against this elemental force. He achieves this dramatic feeling by cleverly arranging his space, placing the viewer almost on the water with the fishing boats. By shortening the distance of the foreground, he thrusts the viewer into the action. The sense of scale and human frailty is provided by the small seabirds in the foreground. Turner frequently uses small animals to emphasize natureʼs power. He often uses the contrast of light and darkness to highlight the drama of man versus nature, which adds to the romantic mood of his paintings.

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3. SCANNING: The Shipwreck 1805, oil on canvas, 67” x 95”, Tate Gallery, London

This painting was Turnerʼs first major work in the Romantic style. The space in the composition did not follow the classical practice of horizontal and vertical lines. Instead the strong diagonals which lead the eye in conflicting directions create a feeling of movement and turmoil. The water dominates the scene, both in color and vastness. It surrounds the people who are dwarfed by it and provide a contrast to its size. This dramatically portrays the Romantic theme of manʼs How did Turner helplessness against the forces of nature. emphasize the action of the shipwreck? Note how Turner links the sea, sky and victims through contrasts in light and dark sections of the sea. The water alternates between dark and light areas, with their contrasting light and dark details. Turner further emphasizes the action by using complementary colors to contrast the red accents of the sailors against the green of the waves. He repeats that color contrast in the sky, thus completing the link and unifying the space within the painting.

Fun Fact: Turner based this painting on sketches of actual shipwrecks. Critics panned it, but the appeal to the masses was obvious. The scene was of great interest to the seafaring British, who lost nearly 5,000 citizens in maritime accidents each year.

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Scanning Questions

The Shipwreck 1805, oil on canvas, 67” x 95”, Tate Gallery, London

Art Elements: What you see.

Color • What are the main colors you see? (Blue, red, yellow, green, white, black.) • Which are warm colors and which are cool colors? (Red and yellow are warm; blue and green are cool.)

Space • Describe what you see in the foreground, middle ground and background. (The waves are in the fore ground, the ship and people are in the middle-ground, and the sky is in the background.) • Which part of the painting—the foreground, middle ground, or background—seems the most dynamic? (The middle ground.)

Art Principles: How the elements are arranged.

Contrast • What types of contrasts are seen here? (Light/dark value, large/small size, complementary color contrast.) • Why did the artist make the people so small versus the sea? (To show the power of nature over the insignificance of man.)

Emphasis • What is the first thing you see? (The sail of the ship.) • How did Turner emphasize the power of the sea? (Through its size; color and value contrasts.)

Technical Properties: How it was made. • What do you call a painting with this subject matter? (Seascape.) • Did Turner paint this from real life or sketches? (Sketches of shipwrecks.)

Expressive Properties: How it makes you feel. • How does this painting make you feel? • Is there a message conveyed through this painting?

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4. Snowstorm; Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps 1812, oil on canvas, 57” x 93”, Tate Gallery, London

Hannibal (241-183 BCE) was one of a long line of Carthaginian generals whose goal it was to conquer Rome. He crossed the Alps with elephants, horses and over 20,000 men, winning battles which brought him to the plains of Italy. However, his forces were too exhausted to take Rome.

Although Turner uses classical subject matter here, this work is a Where did Turner place the departure from traditional compositions. Usually painters divided the horizon line in this painting? space into horizontal and vertical planes with a readily discernible foreground, middle ground and background. To achieve maximum drama, Turner based his swirling scene on irregular intersecting arcs. A vortex of cloud and mist seems to draw the eye into vast distances until oneʼs eye finally rests on the sunlit Italian plains (Hannibalʼs goal). The huge spiral of wind and snow dominates the eight-foot-long canvas, yet the tiny patch of blue sky in the upper left corner is a sign of hope. By using contrasts in color and size, Turner emphasizes this area in the turmoil of the storm. Such contrasts of light and shade, size, color and texture appear from this time on in Turnerʼs work.

In true Romantic style, Turner uses the theme of man dwarfed by the power of natureʼs force. Hannibal is tiny even on an elephant. Note that the horizon is placed in the lower third of the composition. This is a favorite Romantic device for illustrating manʼs power relative to that of nature. By assigning 2/3 of the canvas to the sky and mountains, nature dominates the space in the composition both visually and thematically.

Fun Fact: Turner was famous for recording weather conditions based on first hand experiences. He based this painting on his thoughts during a walk into an approaching thunderstorm.

5. Color Study–The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834, watercolor on paper, 9” x 12-3/4”, Tate Gallery, London

On October 16, 1834, fire gutted the British Houses of Parliament. At that time, wooden sticks were notched to record parliamentary votes and apparently, while burning used voting sticks, the fire got out of control. Turner sketched the scene from across the Thames River, creating a total of nine watercolor sketches during the event. From these sketches, he later produced two oil paintings. Why does the fire seem to Here Turner had a unique opportunity to paint yet another element of visually come toward nature—fire. He saw and painted the fire in terms of light and color. Turner the viewer? contrasts light and dark areas through the use of warm and cool colors. Although fine details are missing in this sketch, the mood is dramatically conveyed by the use of bright warm colors which seem to advance toward the viewer. This serves to emphasize the fire, which is the focal point of the scene and takes up two-thirds of the space. The horizon line is in the lower third of the canvas. This spatial device enhances the mood, composition and theme of Romantic paintings. Additionally, since the lower third of the painting is water, it reflects the colors in the top, unifying and emphasizing the fire in both areas.

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6. The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834-5, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, Cleveland Museum of Art

After witnessing the burning of the Houses of Parliament, Turner returned to his studio with the blaze fixed in his memory and in his watercolor sketches. He painted two oil paintings: this one, which he showed in the spring of 1835 and a second, (now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art), which he showed in the winter of the same year. He has not attempted a realistic depiction of the event, but rather he transforms the space into a kind of aurora borealis, with the fire, sky and water How did Turner draw of the Thames River blending to form an apocalyptic force in the center of the attention to the fire? composition. Placement, size, repetition and warm colors draw attention to the real focal point (emphasis). The subject isnʼt the actual event, but rather the element of nature—fire.

The tension between the danger of the event and the lure of sheer light and color is amazing. Turner worked almost entirely with his palette knife, using pure color to express his feelings about this tragic event. The huge red and yellow pattern of fire and its reflection on the water is in stark contrast to the surrounding cool blue of the night.

7. Keelmen Heaving Coals by Night 1835, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.

This night scene is a study in contrasting light and colors. The whole canvas is illuminated by cold beams of the moon, which contrast with the firelight, all of which is reflected in the calm water of the Tyne River. The subject matter is a tribute to the ceaseless toil that enabled England to become the greatest maritime power of the age.

However, Turner goes beyond the subject matter with his highly original composition. Not only does the red-gold glow of the shipsʼ oil torches What area of the painting dramatically compete with the silvery sheen of the moon on the water, he contrasts with the bright introduces a form of artificial light (the flares on the ships) into the light at the center? composition to contrast with the natural light of the moon. Notice how Turner puts the artificial light on the outer edge, emphasizing the radiance of the moon in the center space. Turner achieves both a romantic mood and message in this painting.

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8. The Fighting Temeraire Towed to Her Last Berth 1838, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, National Gallery, London

Turner first painted this ship in 1808 in his painting “The Battle of Trafalgar.” Later, while at Margate, he saw the “Temeraire” being towed to Deptford to be broken up. The “Temeraire” had become a symbol of naval heroism and history, since she was the second ship in the line after Lord Nelsonʼs ship, “Victory,” at the Battle of Trafalgar. Here Turner paid tribute in a painting that touched the hearts of generations of English citizens. Where do you see the finest, most detailed brushwork? The stately old ship, obsolete in the age of steam yet still beautiful in her lines, is being towed away by an ugly, puffing steam tug, to be junked. Turner is less concerned with fidelity to the facts of color, than he is with the Romantic effects. The contrast in size and color of the two ships serves to point out that the birth of the modern era must mean the death of another one. Even the division of space implies the parallel between the old ship and the setting sun. Turner places them firmly side-by-side. The same message is conveyed symbolically, by the setting sun and the reflection of the rising moon on the left.

Turnerʼs technique shows varied brushstrokes. Note the meticulously painted shipʼs rigging versus the layers of paint used to show the sunʼs rays on the clouds. This is the last painting in which his execution is so firm and precise, as in the shipʼs masts. The difference in treatment emphasizes the details and the glory of the ship. Contrast in brushwork and texture draws attention to the area that is different.

Fun Fact: The critic John Ruskin (who became a great champion of Turnerʼs work), regarded this painting as one Turnerʼs great achievements.

9. The Slave Ship (a.k.a. Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhoon Coming On) 1839, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

England abolished slavery in 1838, but the subject of this painting is based on a common event that took place prior to the end of slavery. It shows a cargo of epidemic-stricken sick and dead slaves being thrown overboard before the oncoming storm. The insurance could be collected only on those “lost” at sea and not on those felled by disease. In this painting, Turner was probably most interested in the opportunity to portray the tragic drama enacted on a violent sea, not in making a social Which color or colors commentary. Had it not been for the recent laws abolishing slavery in dominate/s the scene? England, this painting might have created a furor.

The space is divided into the two ridges of the enormous ocean swell. Between these ridges the fiery light of the sunset falls along the trough of the sea. The bright red sunlight on the water blends with the blood of the innocents devoured by sharks, while the gathering storm whips up the waves. The warm colors seem to run wild and augment the mood of the horror, as they appear to advance toward the viewer. Turner fused the anguish of the victims with the churning waters of the sea for greater effect and emphasis. The scene is drawn together in mid-canvas where the burning skies, sinister ship and rolling seas all coincide. Placement, color and message come together to draw out the drama of the event for the viewer.

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10. Peace: Burial at Sea 1842, oil on canvas, 34” x 34”, Tate Gallery, London

This painting is based on an actual event, although Turner painted this scene in a symbolic, not anecdotal, fashion. The seascape recorded the death of a fellow painter, David Wilkie, while on his way home from Egypt aboard the steamer “Orient.” The ship was refused landing off Gibraltar, due to quarantine and Wilkieʼs body was lowered into the sea there. Turner had to imagine the scene from the accounts given, rather than seeing it firsthand.

The painting is a study in grief, with the black sails and smoke casting a heavy What contrasts dominate Turnerʼs shadow over the calm sea. It was not well received by critics, due to the severe painting and give it its contrasts and density of black. There is very little of the bright colors used in solemn mood? his former paintings. The placement of the solid dark black ship in the center of the space identifies it as the focal point (emphasis). In addition the stark contrast in value, color, light and texture draw our attention. The details of the ship are deliberately left vague, the mere hint as to location is given in the background with the shape of the Rock of Gibraltar, in bright whites on the left.

In the center of the ship, there is a burst of light, (contrasting the masses of dark around it), which Turnerʼs catalogue entry described in the following two lines: “The midnight torch gleamed oʼer the steamerʼs side, and [the] corpse was yielded to the tide.” Turner was proud of his opportunity to display his mastery of black, since he was known for his luminous color palette. He said of this painting that he wished he could make it blacker. The effect he has achieved is ideal for the funerary character of the scene. It was Turnerʼs intention and a sign of his originality to turn this scene into an intensely subjective statement on “manʼs inexorable rout by the higher power of nature.”

11. Snowstorm: Steamboat off a Harborʼs Mouth 1842, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”,Tate Gallery, London

Turnerʼs paintings, even those that appeared remarkably abstract, were generally based on careful observation of nature. That was definitely the case with this painting. Turner, aboard the steamboat, “Ariel,” with a bad storm brewing, insisted on being lashed to the mast of the ship for four hours to experience the storm firsthand. The painting evokes the awesome power of the forces that inspired it. We feel pulled into the savage swirl of events, rather than watching it from a distance. What is the real subject Instead of portraying objects in sharp focus, Turner focused on the of this painting? elements that made things visible—on light and air. The ship is barely visible behind the swirling sheets of snow, wind, and waves. The real subject (emphasis) is the storm, not the ship. His composition is a dramatic vortex spiraling around the vessel. He uses diffused colors to dissolve anything solid into a seething maelstrom of the elements. A spot of light surrounds the mast in contrast to the gray sea and gray blue, almost brownish tone of the sky. The same colors repeat in the churning sea, drawing the whole scene together visually.

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The critics called this work a “mass of soapsuds and whitewash,” to which an infuriated Turner replied, “what did they think a storm at sea felt like?” It is obvious that Turnerʼs work was becoming too abstract for the established “laws of art” at the time. Even the space is no longer distinct; we barely make out the foreground layer, the middle ground with the ship and the background sky. In traditional Romantic fashion, the ship and swirling sky consume the top 2/3 of the canvas above the horizon. This reinforces the power of nature and the dramatic mood of the scene.

12. Rain, Steam, Speed; The Great Western Railway 1844, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, National Gallery, London

In the mid 1800s, Turner became interested in contemporary technology. This painting shows his expressive treatment of the subject. Turner based this painting on a personal experience. One day, while Turner was riding a train during a violent rainstorm, he thrust his head out the window and sat for ten minutes watching the engine race through the downpour. This led to one of his most powerful paintings.

What traditional spatial The Maidenhead Bridge actually carried two sets of tracks. To emphasize device did Turner use here? the most advanced type of locomotive of the day, Turner eliminated the second track (on which his train had been traveling) and recorded only the oncoming train in the center of the track. Placement in the center and isolation created emphasis. Turner used color and contrast to describe the massive bridge structure without much architectural detail. To highlight the massive black engine, he broke up the mass of the black boiler by contrasting it with glowing headlights (value contrast).

Turner reverts to a more linear division of space in this painting (linear perspective is traditionally illustrated by train tracks receding into the distance). So that the viewer would know which direction the train was traveling, he painted three puffs of steam, making the one nearest the engine the most distinct, and the other two gradually less so. The steam is a clever link to the sky, visually linking man and nature. As an added detail, he painted a hare running in front of the engine to give the viewer a sense of speed (by association with the fast hare). Speed is also implied by the blurring of the railroad cars.

But the major force in the painting is the rain that sweeps across the entire canvas, blurring machine, tracks and trestle into a landscape of motion and mood. Even the title mentions nature first and manʼs power second, in co-exisistence with nature.

Fun Fact: Turner was one of the few artists ever to paint subjects of the Industrial Revolution; most artists found them wholly repulsive. The engine was the most advanced of the day; capable of traveling at 90 mph. However, to Turner it was merely about the rain, steam and speed.

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13. Norham Castle, Sunrise 1845, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”, Tate Gallery, London

This painting is of a scene Turner first painted as a watercolor in 1798. Over the years he painted twenty versions of it, finally ending with this oil painting. It retains some of the qualities of the watercolor, with its indistinct forms emerging through brilliant veils of light and color. Although this is a traditional subject, Turner emphasizes light and color over form. The entire landscape is blurred with only perceived forms (except for the cow in the foreground) emerging through a haze of yellow, pink, and blue. Even the castle is an What are the three main colors amorphous blotch of blue in the background. This non-traditional used in this painting? treatment of a traditional scene made his colleagues uncomfortable and earned him ridicule. Only later did other artists appreciate and use his techniques.

Watercolors In addition to his publicly exhibited art, Turner painted almost 20,000 private, experimental watercolors. Discovered in his sketchbooks, they constitute a personal diary of his many trips, but also his artistic journey from themes of antiquity to abstraction. He began as a topographical watercolorist, making line drawings of places and shading them with washes and tints, then coloring the details. Later, color became paramount and drawn lines all but vanished, until finally he transformed art into color alone.

14. Venice, Looking East from the Giudecca: Sunrise 1819, watercolor, 8-1/2” x 11”, British Museum, London

The special quality of light in Venice affected Turnerʼs color palette. His watercolors employed bright yellows and reds along with the customary blues and grays. As in most of his paintings, Turner used the temperature contrast of warm versus cool colors to create his scene and set the mood. We can identify the location of this painting from the few buildings he depicted here, but their details are all but gone, as is the case with the boats in the foreground.

By using the cooler colors in the distance, Turner achieves the feeling of How did Turner divide the space via color. He is turning to abstraction of forms and focusing on space in this painting? the mood via the colors used to portray the atmosphere and light of the place. It is the setting and the water that are emphasized. To reinforce this concept, Turner used the typical Romantic division of 2/3 atmosphere and 1/3 land below the horizon. Now the “land” area is actually water, since the location is Venice.

Fun Fact: This new depiction of light and shade led fellow British landscape painter, John Constable, to describe Turnerʼs colors as “tinted steam.”

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15. A Castle on a Headland c.1824, watercolor, 10” x 10-1/2”, British Museum, London

In this painting, the castle and the adjacent ridge are mere forms that almost blend into each other. We can tell the location is on the water, but no specific clues are given. The details are secondary to the mood and the atmosphere. Turner used the properties of color to create a sense of space. Here the sky is painted in the darker blues and grays, while the water in the foreground is shown in the warmer pinks, yellows, and blues.

Turner has moved so far into abstraction that if the viewer were to turn the Which element image upside down, it would work equally well, due to the reflection of the determines the mood castle in the water. The sky would then be the warmer section and the in this watercolor? contrasting cool water would be foreboding. The mood would be completely different.

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