(London 1775 - 1851)
His name was Joseph Mallord William Turner, a British painter. A precocious artist, he studied with Thomas Malton at the Royal Academy (1789-1793), of which he would later become a professor of perspective (1807) and president (1845). He first exhibited watercolors in 1790 and oil paintings in 1796. Trained in the topographical tradition, he directed his pictorial activity towards romantic landscape themes, establishing himself especially as a watercolorist.
He traveled through Wales and Scotland, and for some time resided in Switzerland, where he created his first alpine landscapes.
His numerous oil paintings reveal a preference for 17th-century Dutch marine painters and for the works of French classicists (Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin), whose works he studied during his stay in Paris. In the early decades of the 19th century, Turner painted historical works, such as The Death of Nelson (Tate Gallery, London), but focused his artistic preferences on the exploration of light and atmosphere in landscape (Rain, Steam, and Speed, National Gallery, London).
The landscapes that Turner created in his later years at Petworth (Sussex), during frequent visits to the mansion of the Earl of Egremont, his friend and patron, constitute the most valuable part of his work (Morning after the Storm, Sunrise at the Castle of Norma, Sunset at Sea, National Gallery, London); they are characterized by the intense luminosity of atmospheric effects and by a new and bold compositional freedom, representing one of the happiest achievements in the search for the "sublime" aspects of romantic painting.
The National Gallery and the Tate Gallery in London hold the majority of his production. He is also represented in numerous British and North American museums.
His name was Joseph Mallord William Turner, a British painter. A precocious artist, he studied with Thomas Malton at the Royal Academy (1789-1793), of which he would later become a professor of perspective (1807) and president (1845). He first exhibited watercolors in 1790 and oil paintings in 1796. Trained in the topographical tradition, he directed his pictorial activity towards romantic landscape themes, establishing himself especially as a watercolorist.
He traveled through Wales and Scotland, and for some time resided in Switzerland, where he created his first alpine landscapes.
His numerous oil paintings reveal a preference for 17th-century Dutch marine painters and for the works of French classicists (Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin), whose works he studied during his stay in Paris. In the early decades of the 19th century, Turner painted historical works, such as The Death of Nelson (Tate Gallery, London), but focused his artistic preferences on the exploration of light and atmosphere in landscape (Rain, Steam, and Speed, National Gallery, London).
The landscapes that Turner created in his later years at Petworth (Sussex), during frequent visits to the mansion of the Earl of Egremont, his friend and patron, constitute the most valuable part of his work (Morning after the Storm, Sunrise at the Castle of Norma, Sunset at Sea, National Gallery, London); they are characterized by the intense luminosity of atmospheric effects and by a new and bold compositional freedom, representing one of the happiest achievements in the search for the "sublime" aspects of romantic painting.
The National Gallery and the Tate Gallery in London hold the majority of his production. He is also represented in numerous British and North American museums.
