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Created: June 22, 2003
Latest Update: June 22, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

J.M.W. Turner's Late Seascapes

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, June 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

This essay is based on the Clark Art Institute's Exhibition of Turner's Late Seascapes in June through September 2003.

I know we can't go to the exhibit, but learn to look for online presentations. No, it's not the same thing. But at least you'll have the liberal arts knowledge of Turner's late seascapes, and maybe someday you'll get to see them. At least one of these belongs to the Getty in L.A., and there are frequent Turner exhibitions.

J.M.W. Turner is a name that you should recognize. Part of your liberal arts experience.

Sunrise with Sea Monsters
c. 1845
Oil on canvas
Tate Britain, London. © Tate, 2003

"For an island nation the sea was both a fact of life and a fantastic realm of the imagination, a setting for mythical legends and human dramas. Its uncontrollable and unpredictable power was an apt metaphor, whether for biblical narratives or the political instability of Europe in the 1840s. It was also a good theme for artistic experimentation, and Turner used his knowledge of color theory and the emerging technology of photography to create works of groundbreaking originality."
From the Clark Art Exhibition Exhibit Overview.

Sunrise with Sea Monsters Larger version at WebMuseum.

Detail of Sea Monsters at WebMuseum.

See also Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth making Signals in Shallow Water, and going by the Lead for an image and analysis. (Turner was in this Storm on the Night the Ariel left Harwich) I842, 9I x I22 cm. Clore Gallery.

See also J. M. W. Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway (1844). Beautiful painting. I'm especially interested in Turner's representation of "speed." Thought you should see it just for fun.

Discussion Questions

1. Does the painting give you specific details or a more general feeling about the scene?

   In his later paintings Turner moves more toward eliminating specific details and just reproducing the feeling of light.

2. What do you suppose makes seascapes so popular as paintings?

   Peace, sense of infinity, that which reaches out to others we cannot see or hear. The note in the bottle idea.

   Dolly's painting and explanation.

3. What role does the actual painting activity satisfy?

   Capture some of the feeling we cannot express.

4. Where does such painting activity fit in art history and the role of the museum in art?

   Folk art. Surrounding ourselves by color and form that express the interdependent nature of this world. Refernce to last week's folk art.

5. How is photographic illustration different from painting, drawing, sculpting?

   More latitude to follow imaginary beyond reality and to express the non-quantifiable, the feelings.

   Francis Bacon's portraits. The Popes.