william turner 1775
Name: Joseph Mallord William Turner
Born: 23 April 1775
Died: 19 December 1851and rests in St Pauls Cathedral
Home Town: Covent Garden, London
Style: Romanticism / printermaker / watercolourist
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Exhibited: National Gallery & Turner Exhibition at Tate Britain
Why I like him: I came across the Fighting Temeraire on an Andew Marr programme and just wanted to see it. The story behind the painting is fascinating as is the vibrancy of the colours used.
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History:
•Turner was very ambitious painter wanted to be famous.
•Royal Academy of Art from the age of 14 and showed interest in architecture
•1796 he produced his first oil ‘Fisherman at Sea’, which was highly praised and founded his reputation as an oil painter of maritime scenes
•Once Nelson became successful with his maritime defeats, it popularised pictorial representation of what was happening at sea.
•Turner became extremely talented at capturing life at sea, depicting sailors in battle wounded, dying and victorious. His paintings were used and printed on cups, plates, etc increasing his popularity
•His style said to have laid the foundation for impressionism
•In later years he painted more transparently as can be seen in Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway
•Commonly known as the ‘painter of light’
battle of Trafalgar 1824
This painting was a turning point for Turner. The canvas had been commissioned by King George IV. It was an important time in history where Lord Nelson's strategy had defeated Napoleon in his quest to conquer Britain. Turner takes several moments in time and uses them in one painting, turning it into an important historical painting, perhaps controversial in its time with people drowning and dishevelled ships rather than the victorious painting that would have been expected.
fighting temeraire 1839
This is such a beautiful painting with wonderful colours as an old paddle boat tows in the Fighting Temeraire into dock where it was to be dismantled. It was just back from battle so it is unlikely that it would have been pristine as it is depicted here. Perhaps it is more of a victorious ghostly ship coming to rest. Both sun and moon are in the painting, perhaps signifying the ship coming to rest and the dawn of a new day. Either way, it is a beautifully haunting picture. The photo below was taken from an exhibition at the Tate Britain Gallery.
rain, steam and speed 1844
Turner gives an impression of a fast train, which you can see through the mist of the steam and rain. It is an example of how Turner's style changed later in life.
