Slide 1
Turner lets atmosphere change how solid forms appear
Turner could make buildings, boats and landscapes appear through mist, light or weather. The surrounding atmosphere becomes part of the subject.
More to Read
Rain, Steam, and Speed presents a modern railway within that changing visibility. The painting joins a contemporary technology to an exploration of how the world is seen.
Slide 2
Rain, Steam, and Speed combines weather, machines and motion
The title Rain, Steam, and Speed directs attention to weather, machinery and motion. The picture brings those conditions into one visual encounter.
More to Read
The train is not isolated as a technical diagram. Its relationship to the landscape makes the experience of modern travel part of the composition's meaning.
Slide 3
The Fighting Temeraire places a final journey beneath a sunset
In The Fighting Temeraire, a sailing warship is towed towards its final dismantling. A brilliant sunset gives the journey a larger emotional setting.
More to Read
The National Gallery reads the scene as a transition from sail to steam. The time of day works with the vessels to suggest an ending beyond one ship's immediate journey.
Slide 4
Colour and atmosphere reshape the emotional scene
Turner's pictures do more than provide neutral records of a place. Colour and atmosphere shape the emotional force of the scene.
More to Read
A dramatic sky can organise the viewer's response even when the named subject is a vessel. The hierarchy of a painting is not always the same as the hierarchy implied by its title.
Slide 5
Steam power could enter the established landscape genre
Turner included steam power within landscape painting. New machines could become part of an established artistic genre rather than requiring a separate category.
More to Read
Comparing his railway and ship paintings shows two different encounters with technological change. One stresses speed through weather; the other uses a final journey to suggest historical passage.
Sources
- Rain, Steam, and Speed
National Gallery
- The Fighting Temeraire
National Gallery