English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker,
William Turner
was born in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London,
April 23, 1775.
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Known for his expressive colourisations, imaginative landscapes and turbulent seascapes, Turner devoted his entire life to his art and was fortunate to be successful throughout his career.
He left behind more than 550 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolours, and 30,000 works on paper. Most are in the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery, London.
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With such a huge legacy, it’s quite a task trying to ‘pick’, however, here’s a …taste!
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“…indistinctness is my forte…”
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“My business is to paint what I see, not what I know is there.”
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“If I could find anything blacker than black I’d use it.”
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“To select, combine and concentrate that which is beautiful in nature and admirable in art is as much the business of the landscape painter in his line as in the other departments of art.”
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“I don’t paint so that people will understand me, I paint to show what a particular scene looks like.”
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“Painting is a strange business.”
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J.M.W. Turner’s Poem dedicated to Ivan Aivazovsky [1842]
Like a curtain slowly drawn
It stops suddenly half open,
Or, like grief itself, filled with gentle hope,
It becomes lighter in the shore-less dark,
Thus the moon barely wanes
Winding her way above the storm-tossed sea.
Stand upon this hill and behold endlessly
This scene of a formidable sea,
And it will seem to thee a waking dream.
That secret mind flowing in thee
Which even the day cannot scatter,
The serenity of thinking and the beating of the heart
Will enchain thee in this vision;
This golden-silver moon
Standing lonely over the sea,
All curtain the grief of even the hopeless.
And it appears that through the tempest
Moves a light caressing wind,
While the sea swells up with a roar,
Sometimes, like a battlefield it looks to me
The tempestuous sea,
Where the moon itself is a brilliant golden crown
Of a great king.
But even that moon is always beneath thee
Oh Master most high,
Oh forgive thou me
If even this master was frightened for a moment
Oh, noble moment, by art betrayed…
And how may one not delight in thee,
Oh thou young boy, but forgive thou me,
If I shall bend my white head
Before thy art divine
Thy bliss-wrought genius…
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Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759 “Unfinished”
1. Allegro moderato
Franz Schubert
Berliner Philharmoniker · Herbert von Karajan
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Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 “Ghost”
Ludwig van Beethoven
Daniel Barenboim – piano • Pinchas Zukerman – violin • Jacqueline du Pré – cello
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For more information on Turner:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._W._Turner
https://www.william-turner.org/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-mallord-william-turner-558
Marina Kanavaki 
These paintings are fascinating to view as a group. Some are realistic, some are abstract, and some are in-between. I love this quote: “…indistinctness is my forte…” I’ll have to remember the next time I have a story up for critique.
Excellent quote right?! Yes, his paintings vary, yet to me even his almost abstracts are so very distinct!
Another thing… He can be very detailed in his paintings, or quite vague. Yet, his vague art is not impressionistic. xoxoxoxoxoxo
Excellent observation, Resa! I actually see his art as clearly specific. Not vague at all!
Mouah!!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Mouah!!Mouah!!Mouah!!
🤗😘🤗😘🤗😘🤗
I remember this art, and it’s definitely worth looking at again, and again.
I listened to Schubert, again. That was fun!
Thank you, dahling!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
(How’s Hera?) xoxoxoxo
Oh, yes it is… That’s the greatness with master painters. You can look at a painting and discover new elements every time!
Thank YOY, my dahling!
She’s happy and sends many tail wags and slobbery kisses!!!
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Thank you for the music 🎶 too, Marina❣️
Thank YOU, for listening!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂
I’ve never seen so much Turner at one time, and I really like the way these images swing back and forth between the more abstract and the more realistic. It’s very instructive, in a way, because you begin to see how he thought. I’ve always loved his work, so thank you for doing this post. (I found it through Michael’s AMAGA blog).
Ah, thank YOU Lynn, for your kind words and visit. I’m so glad you enjoyed this post. I had been wondering whether I had too many works up, but then I’d already ‘shortened’ the list and trying to delete paintings was impossible! 😉
I confess that I know how that feels, shortening the selection, and still having too many images. 🙂
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Same for me, Marina. I found this post through Michael’s AMAGA blog. I sincerely thank you for this tribute and introduction to Turner. All paintings are carefully selected and not one too much. Absolutely impossible to delete any of his works.😊
Ah, thank you so much! Believe me, I tried hard to keep the number down, so your words are very reassuring! 🙂☺
Wow! Schubert is a very fancy composer. I think he’s the fanciest so far, but all this classical music is new to me. I’ll just keep listening!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
J & J send all their fur to Hera! xoxoxo
A ha ha… Hera is playing with the fluff ball and wags her tail joyfully!
He is and it’s a shame he didn’t live longer…
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the music!
Much love and
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
😀 😀
Does Hera like listening to music?
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She does…. but we have to get her a pair of headphones because we usually listen with headphones and she stares at us…. “why can’t I listen too?”!!!!!!
Lololololol!!
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xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I do recognize a couple of works, but the rest are new to me, especially the blurry ones.
Wonderful, wonderful…. and a poet, as well!
Okay, so here’s the thing, I’m listening to Charles Mingus…yes, on Oannes. 😀
I’ll listen to yours, next!
I believe Turner and Mingus go well together too! First work of his I saw were the blurry landscapes and being at the peak of my admiration for Gauguin, Klee etc believe it or not I didn’t ‘communicate’ with his work. That came later and it grew to a great love! …speaking of which: much love to you and many hugs! 🤗❤🤗❤🤗❤🤗
I sure enjoyed looking at Turners work while listening to Mingus. 🤗❤🤗❤🤗❤🤗
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If you put all these images in a book, it would be a page-Turner.
A ha ha…. It would indeed!!! 😉
Brilliant, Steve! 😊
It’s fun to play with words, which are often easier to arrange than life is.
“Often” huh?!!!!!! 😉
You’re welcome to be optimistic and substitute “sometimes” for “often”.
Ah ha ha ha…. okay then! 😉 [eventhough I think your first word was the one closer to reality, I don’t mind taking ‘sometimes’ 😉 ]
The effect is astonishing. The eyes 👀 they see.
Wow… I didn’t really know Turner. What a wonderful introduction for me.
Thank you, Marina.!
Hubs was laughing at me: “D’ya think you got ‘nough paintings in there?!!!” …but really these were the …fewest i could pick! 🤣😉 So happy i introduced more of his work to you! Comes with bonus hugs!!! 😉🤗
Hahaha!
And thanks!
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😉 😉
xoxoxoxo
Marianne,
Check out Marina’s blog, for her inclusion and choice of art, poetry and music, all are an exceptional and magnificent treat. Turner’s paintings are to die for, and Jacqueline du Pré’s Dvořák Cello Concerto is magic, and with Daniel Barenboim conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, leaves one mesmerized. This whole blog can keep you listening to nothing but artistique beauty…
Jean-Jacques
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Awww, my dearest Jean-Jacques, thank you so much for your wonderful words and recommendation… I am humbled! On music, I went back to check my links… du Pré, Barenboim & Zukerman were playing Beethoven’s piano trio “Ghost” and the other video was with Schubert’s Unfinished symphony – Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karajan. I hope these are what you see/hear too. Again thank you, my dearest friend! This means a lot! 🙂
Music and art, especially Turner, I have a number af books about him and his work.
Although he was rather cutting with his criticism of Constable (Unwarranted as it turned out) he is still one of the great interpreters of sea and landscapes.
Daniel Barenboim, Jacqueline du Pré Beethoven & Schubert gosh you have managed to encompass some greats in this post 🙂
Yes, that incident with the daub of red he planted! It’s interesting reading stories of artist rivalries throughout history! On music… looking at his paintings brought these in mind (round Turner’s time too) and well du Pré is always precious! 😉
I have spent many wonderful hours at the Turner Gallery in Tate Britain, London and seen many of these in the flesh/paint as it were – the range of his work you featured here is impressive especially when he strays into more impressionistic one.
After several visits I started to pay attention to the smaller details of people in the paintings – Turner does some wonderful faces and figures – you’ll see them if you enlarge the images.
The poem was a complete surprise so thank you for showing us.
I was also drawn into those faces. If I could only go back a few years to my last visit at the Tate… He was such a devoted artist and it shows! The poem was a surprise to me too! 😉😘
Utterly fantastically wonderful. Turner is my favorite. And it was love at first sight. You have posted some of my favorites.
Oh, I’m glad I did… but so many works…
For me it was a lasting love that grew! 🙂
I keep discovering more and more.
Oh, indeed…. so do I!
Oh so lovely! Beautiful art! ❤️
Isn’t it?! I can tell you, Turner grew on me. He was not one of ‘love at first sight’ painters… but now…. 🙂
I really love his art work ! Thank you Marina! xoxo
Me too!!! [needless to say! 😉 ] xoxoxoxo
xoxoxo
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Amazing how much “Scarlet Sunset” looks like “Impression, Sunrise”! I’ve always liked Turner’s works.
You mean Monet’s? It does!!! Monet painted it around 1872 and Turner c.1830-1840. But sometimes ‘great minds DO think alike’! 😉
Yes, Monet. Turner did push painting to the breaking point, so the Impressionist don’t seem so radical after seeing his works, they just seem that way after looking at the often-boring French Academic work that was popular when they started.
Yes, he did! 🙂