William Turner is a famous British artist and romantic painter. His work was distinguished by the author’s approach in an incredible play of light, a bright palette of colors and shades in the image of landscapes. The public is widely known as the exalted sea artist. Many of his later paintings were not accepted by people of his time but were appreciated by a huge army of admirers of future generations. Make your own conclusion about Turner paintings in the gallery william-turner.org.
Art experiments
Turner was a pioneer in the study of color, light, and atmosphere. For romanticism, the follower of which was an artist, there are no established canons. That is why we see so many creative experiments in Turner paintings. He tried to bring the historical spirit, significant events, famous mythological, and literary scenes into the basis of the plot of his paintings. In the early period of his creativity, the historical subjects prevailed. In later works, Turner concentrated on ocean paintings. In his oceanic stories, JMW Turner depicted the interaction between man and nature. An incredible force is a stormy ocean, which a man cannot control and plays with many shades of the sun setting.
JMW Turner actively developed a marine theme since the end of the 18th century. His work in oil Fishermen at Sea was the first picture presented at the Royal Academy in 1796. A small fishing boat falls into the power of dark oppressive waves. A chunk of rock of the Isle of Wight is depicted on the left side of the canvas. After this exhibition, Turner’s intellectual style began to be compared with the works of the brilliant Rembrandt.
In 1804, his popularity provided him with the financial opportunity to build his art gallery in his home. The opening took place with the presentation of ocean painting Shipwreck. This is one of Turner paintings, which is based on the popular story – the wreck of a passenger ship. Most of the canvas is occupied by the raging ocean. The author uses white color to display bubbling foam that crowns huge waves. On the surface of the waves, a crowded boat with the passengers from a sinking ship and others try their best to climb inside. The hopelessness of the moment is emphasized by the gloomy dark tones of the sea, which in its color scheme almost merges with the sky. And only the finest glimmer of light in the depths of the sky gives hope to the exhausted people for the end of the storm and coming salvation.
The landscapes of the 1820s – early 1840s contain the freedom in the author’s line and the dynamism of the plots. They have pure light colors and built on soft contrasts. The observer has the impression that the outline of objects dissolves as if in a haze or fog.
The giant of the sea
Perhaps the most striking and well-known canvas of this period is The Last Voyage of the Fighting Temeraire. The Valiant Ship surviving the battle of Trafalgar is the main object of the foreground. In the background, we see the clouds glowing in the fire against the setting sun. A huge ship tows a small soot-black ship. The work of the ocean master was first presented at the Royal Academy in 1939. Most experts rated this work as Turner’s best one. JMW Turner refused to sell it even for the enormous money that connoisseurs offered him many times. Most likely, the plot was a figment of the artist’s imagination. The sailing ship testified the author’s reflection on the corruption of the human being.
A bright red sunset enhances the effect of a used ship that is being disassembled. The 60-year-old Turner here might want to show a comparison with a man who has lived his life, made an important contribution and retires with dignity. Turner bequeathed this picture to the British nation. Now it can be seen in the London art gallery.
It’s hard to imagine, but along with The Last Flight of the Valiant Ship, William Turner continued to experiment with watercolor seascapes. For such work, he repeatedly received criticism from his contemporaries. One of the hundreds of quick and very expressive watercolors was the work The Blue Sea and the Distant Ship.
Some experts called such works “the beginnings” and preparatory studies and not accomplished. Even so, after Turner’s death, his works took a worthy place in his artistic heritage, along with more recognized paintings. Many such ocean paintings considered to be abstract. But The Blue Sea and the Distant Ship is a very figurative work, based on a very real idea of the sea and land.
Not everyone can understand abstract images in the marine representatives of romanticism. Take for example the picture with a long title Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth Making Signals in Shallow Water, and going by the Lead. It seems to the observer as a kind of dynamic image. There is no chaos in it, but on the contrary, all moving lines are subordinated to a single image expressed in a snowstorm whirlwind. Through a storm, a ship is trying to go sailing like a blind kitten. He probes the bottom of the sea with the navigation instrument, so that not to get into the shallow water.
Turner’s Legacy
Turner traveled a lot throughout his life. Only in the last 15 years of his life has he visited France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. Even in old age, he was energetic and tireless. During his life, he created more than 19,000 paintings and drawings.
William Turner died in Chelsea in 1851, where he lived the last years of his life. He bequeathed a huge amount of money for that time, more than 140,000 pounds, to support artists who had problems with finances and bad habits. This will of the artist was not destined to happen. Most of this money was sued by his distant relatives.
He bequeathed all his accomplished paintings to the British National Art Gallery. The condition of the will was to build a separate gallery for his works. This part of the will was realized in 1908.
In 2014, the feature film directed by Mike Lee, about the life of William Turner, was released. The theater and film actor Timothy Spall played the main role in this film.