Arcadópolis
The Fighting Temeraire
J. M. W. Turner, 1839
What you see
A great three-masted warship, pale as a ghost, fills the left side. In front of it, much smaller and darker, a steam tug pulls it along, its tall funnel pouring out smoke. On the other side, the sun sinks toward the horizon, and a black buoy floats near the bottom edge. The eye travels from the pale ship to the red sun.
The canvas splits into two moods: cool blues and silvers around the ship, and blazing oranges and yellows in the sky, laid on in loose, thick strokes. Watch for the thin crescent moon, a white sliver high on the left, and the golden reflections stretching across the still water.
About J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner was called “the painter of light”. He painted storms, raging seas, fog and colourful sunsets, and it is said he once had himself tied to a ship’s mast to watch a storm. He left thousands of works to his country, most of them kept today at the Tate in London.
More by J. M. W. Turner
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