William mallard turner artist biography

Having become a full member of the RA at age twenty-six, he was elected Professor of Perspective five years later. He remained active in the Academy throughout his life, serving in various governing roles that culminated in a brief tenure as acting president in Yet Turner continually elicited disdain from some conservative critics. Barker, Elizabeth E.

Gage, John. Turner: "A Wonderful Range of Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press, Whalers Joseph Mallord William Turner. Citation Barker, Elizabeth E. Lindsay, Jack. Turner: The Man and His Art. London: Granada, Others prepare the catch for sale. This human activity contrasts with the stillness of the glassy sea which, like a mirror, reflects the hazy sunlight.

The Evening Star. The only figure is a barely visible young boy with a shrimping net over his shoulder, who wades in from t The Fighting Temeraire. The veteran warship had played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar inbut by was The Parting of Hero and Leander. This picture illustrates an ancient Greek myth that was retold by later writers, including the English romantic poet, Lord Byron.

Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, lived in a tower on the Hellespont strait, which separates Europe from Asia. She was in love with Leander, a young man from the Asian s Ulysses deriding Polyphemus - Homer's Odyssey. It shows Ulysses sailing from the island where Polyphemus, a one-eyed giant, had held him and his men captive. Wearing a helmet and a scarlet cloak, Ulysses raises his arms in victory as he stands on the deck of his ship, belo You've viewed 3 of 10 paintings.

Turner travelled widely in Europe, starting with France and Switzerland in and studying in the Louvre in Paris in the same year. He made many visits to Venice. Important support for his work came from Walter Ramsden Fawkes of Farnley Hallnear Otley in Yorkshire, who became a close friend of the artist. Turner first visited Otley inaged 22, when commissioned to paint watercolours of the area.

William mallard turner artist biography: Joseph Mallord William Turner RA,

He was so attracted to Otley and the surrounding area that he returned to it throughout his career. Turner was a frequent guest of George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremontat Petworth House in West Sussex, and painted scenes that Egremont funded taken from the grounds of the house and of the Sussex countryside, including a view of the Chichester Canal.

Petworth House still displays a number of paintings. As Turner grew older, he became more eccentric. He had few close friends except for his father, who lived with him for 30 years and worked as his studio assistant. His father's death in had a profound effect on him, and thereafter he was subject to bouts of depression. He never married but had a relationship with an older widow, his housekeeper Sarah Danby.

He is believed to have been the father of her two daughters Evelina Dupuis and Georgiana Thompson. It was recorded that her mother, Sarah Danby, was a witness along with Charles Thompson. Turner formed a relationship with Sophia Caroline Booth after her second husband died, and from he lived with her as "Mr Booth" or "Admiral Booth" in her house at 6 Davis's Place now Cheyne Walk in Chelseauntil his death in December Turner was a habitual user of snuff ; inLouis Philippe IKing of the Frenchpresented a gold snuff box to him.

Turner formed a short but intense friendship with the artist Edward Thomas Daniell. Turner had previously refused to sit for the artist, and it was difficult to get his agreement to be portrayed. Daniell positioned the two men opposite each other at dinner, so that Linnell could observe his subject carefully and portray his likeness from memory.

William mallard turner artist biography: English Romantic landscape painter

Turner's friend, the architect Philip Hardwickthe son of his old tutor, was in charge of making the funeral arrangements and wrote to those who knew Turner to tell them at the time of his death that, "I must inform you, we have lost him. Turner's talent was recognised early in his life. Financial independence allowed Turner to innovate freely; his mature work is characterized by a chromatic palette and broadly applied atmospheric washes of paint.

Turner was recognised as an artistic genius; the English art critic John Ruskin described him as the artist who could most "stirringly and truthfully measure the moods of Nature". Turner's imagination was sparked by shipwrecks, fires including the burning of Parliament inan event which Turner witnessed first-hand, and transcribed in a series of watercolour sketchesand natural phenomena such as sunlight, storm, rain, and fog.

A exhibition at the Clark Art Institute suggested these two paintings were pendants, due in part to their similar content and size. Turner's work drew criticism from contemporaries. Turner's major venture into printmaking was the Liber Studiorum Book of Studiesseventy prints that he worked on from to The Liber Studiorum was an expression of his intentions for landscape art.

The idea was loosely based on Claude Lorrain 's Liber Veritatis Book of Truthwhere Claude had recorded his completed paintings; a series of print copies of these drawings, by then at Devonshire Househad been a huge publishing success. Turner's plates were meant to be widely disseminated, and categorised the genre into six types: Marine, Mountainous, Pastoral, Historical, Architectural, and Elevated or Epic Pastoral.

His early works, such as Tintern Abbeystay true to the traditions of English landscape. In Hannibal Crossing the Alpsan emphasis on the destructive power of nature has already come into play. His distinctive style of painting, in which he used watercolour technique with oil paints, created lightness, fluency, and ephemeral atmospheric effects.

In Turner's later years, he used oils ever more transparently and turned to an evocation of almost pure light by use of shimmering colour. A prime example of his mature style can be seen in Rain, Steam and Speed — The Great Western Railwaywhere the objects are barely recognisable. The intensity of hue and interest in evanescent light not only placed Turner's work in the vanguard of English painting but exerted an influence on art in France; the Impressionistsparticularly Claude Monetcarefully studied his techniques.

He is also generally regarded as a precursor of abstract painting. High levels of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Tambora in the atmosphere duringthe " Year Without a Summer ", led to unusually spectacular sunsets during this period, and were an inspiration for some of Turner's work. John Ruskin said that an early patron, Thomas MonroPrincipal Physician of Bedlamand a collector and amateur artist, was a significant influence on Turner's style:.

His true master was Dr Monro; to the practical teaching of that first patron and the wise simplicity of method of watercolour study, in which he was disciplined by him and companioned by his friend Girtinthe healthy and constant development of the greater power is primarily to be attributed; the greatness of the power itself, it is impossible to over-estimate.

Together with a number of young artists, Turner was able, in Monro's London house, to copy works of the major topographical draughtsmen of his time and perfect his skills in drawing. But the curious atmospherical effects and illusions of John Robert Cozens 's watercolours, some of which were present in Monro's house, went far further than the neat renderings of topography.

The solemn grandeur of his Alpine views were an early revelation to the young Turner and showed him the true potential of the watercolour medium, conveying mood instead of information. Turner experimented with a wide variety of pigments. As a result, many of his colours have now faded. Ruskin complained at how quickly his william mallard turner artist biography decayed; Turner was indifferent to posterity and chose materials that looked good when freshly applied.

Turner left a small fortune, which he hoped would be used to support what he called "decayed artists". He planned an almshouse at Twickenham in west London with a gallery for some of his works. His will was contested and inafter a court battle, his first cousins, including Thomas Price Turnerreceived part of his fortune. His finished paintings were bequeathed to the British nation, and he intended that a special gallery would be built to house them.

This did not happen because there was disagreement over the final site. Twenty-two years after his death, the British Parliament passed an act allowing his paintings to be lent to museums outside London, and so began the process of scattering the pictures which Turner had wanted to be kept together. One of the greatest collectors of his work was Henry Vaughanwho when he died in owned more than one hundred watercolours and drawings by Turner and as many prints.

His collection included examples of almost every type of work on paper the artist produced, from early topographical drawings and atmospheric landscape watercolours, to brilliant colour studies, literary vignette illustrations and spectacular exhibition pieces. It included nearly a hundred proofs of Liber Studiorum and twenty-three drawings connected with it.

William mallard turner artist biography: Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (23

It was an unparalleled collection that comprehensively represented the diversity, imagination and technical inventiveness of Turner's work throughout his sixty-year career. Vaughan bequeathed the most of his Turner collection to British and Irish public galleries and museums, stipulating that the collections of Turner's watercolours should be 'exhibited to the public all at one time, free of charge and only in January', demonstrating an awareness of conservation which was unusual at the time.

Ina new wing at the Tate, the Clore Gallerywas opened to house the Turner bequest, though some of the most important paintings remain in the National Gallery in contravention of Turner's condition that they be kept and shown together. The Royal Academy of Arts admitted Turner in lateand the following year he was given the chance to display his work in the Royal Academy Exhibition.

Turner soon earned a steady income through a variety of artistic endeavors, including selling designs to engravers, coloring sketches and providing private lessons. Turner began traveling through Europe extensively and was particularly inspired by his visits to Venice. His initial efforts reflected his training as a topographic draftsman and resulted in realistic depictions of landscapes, but over the years he developed his own style.

His works -- watercolors, oil paintings and engravings -- are now regarded as a predecessor to Impressionism. InTurner accepted a position as professor of perspective at the Royal Academy, where he lectured until He grew increasingly eccentric and secretive, avoiding contact with virtually everyone except for his father, and was embittered when Queen Victoria passed him over for knighthood.

Turner continued to hold exhibitions but begrudgingly sold his paintings, the loss of each one catapulting him into a prolonged state of dejection. Despite his unusual behavior, Turner continued to produce great works of art. Though he is best known for his oil paints, he is also considered one of the founders of English watercolor landscape painting.