British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner: biography, creativity

Information about the life of this artist is not so much preserved, and many of them are contradictory. It is known that William carefully concealed his life and deliberately distorted the facts of the biography. William Turner - an artist who believed that his work will tell about him best. According to the generally accepted version, William's birthplace is London. However, the artist himself declared at various periods of his life as a whole series of regions of England. And there are many such contradictions in his biography.

Origins and childhood

We will consider that Joseph Mallord William Turner (years of life - 1775-1851) was born in the British capital, London. The father of the future artist kept a hairdresser. In the time of Turner, these institutions were just as popular meeting places as the English pubs. In the barber's shop of his father, there were poets, engravers and artists. Father hung his son's watercolors on the walls for sale.

Training

Turner (his self-portrait was presented above) in 1789 was admitted to the school, which operated under the Royal Academy of Arts. Already at the age of 15, he first exhibited his watercolor at the academy, William Turner. His biography was noted in the years of study while studying and working. William mastered the technique in which topographic landscapes were performed - the exact small types of parks, estates, cathedrals and castles. In addition, he worked on the order - he copied the works of old masters.

Appeal to oil painting

The work of William Turner is not limited to watercolor. The artist in 1790 decided to turn to oil painting. In 1801 he created a painting called "Danish ships under the wind", which is an imitation of the Dutch masters. This work testified to the increased skill of the beginning artist. It was executed so qualitatively that some even thought that Turner had copied the old landscape.

Service at the Royal Academy of Arts

The artist in 1802 was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. William Turner served her until the end of his days. He lectured for both students and the general public, took part in the organization of exhibitions.

"Landscape on the Thames"

Turner in the period from 1806 to 1812 created a series of sketches - images of the bank of the river. Thames. Among them is the watercolor "Landscape on the Thames" written about 1806 (otherwise the work is called "Landscape with a White Rainbow"). Nature, the main and permanent hero of the artist, in his mind more often appeared not just as a majestic spectacle. On its background historical events were played out. Turner portrayed in the style of the Dutch marina modern plot. The theme of the painting is the death of a passenger ship. At the same time, the image of the raging sea occupies two thirds of the canvas. A whitish fishnet foam forms a huge shaft on the surface of the sea. This is the composite core of the canvas. In the center of the shaft is a crowded boat. This is the only thing in the whole composition that keeps balance. On the right side of the crest, a sailboat, which has finally lost its stability, soars. The lost ships are located on the left and in the depth of the canvas. Their masts are broken, sails are torn off, and their decks are flooded with water.

"The passage of Hannibal through the Alps"

This picture William created in the year of the invasion of Bonaparte in Russia. It is known that the latter was compared with Hannibal, the commander of the city-state of Carthage, who was competing for dominion over the Mediterranean with Ancient Rome. Turner used in the composition his favorite method: in the oval he wrote the most dramatic part of the canvas. Flakes of snow, snowstorm are thrown into a large funnel, which draws the confused soldiers into the crevice of the mountains. Surprisingly accurately written blizzard. William Turner once observed her in the estate of a friend. The artist sketched this bad weather on the mail envelope and said that in 2 years this blizzard will be seen by everyone in his picture. The work was completed in 1812.

Painting with an interesting story

All the virtuosity and complexity became with time the technique of watercolor painting by William. In 1818, he created the work "First class frigate, replenishing reserves." According to the eyewitness account, the history of its creation is the following. The son of William's friends asked Turner, who was staying with them, to draw a frigate. William took a sheet, poured liquid ink onto the paper. Then, when the paper was wet, he rubbed it, scratched it. Everything at first seemed chaotic, but gradually, as if by magic, the ship began to be born. The drawing already by the time of the second breakfast was presented with triumph.

"Liber Studiorum" and design of books of English writers

Twice William Turner dealt with graphics. In the period from 1807 to 1819 he tried to create a kind of encyclopedia of the landscape in engravings. This work gave the artist a Latin name, translated "The Book of Studies" ("Liber Studiorum"). He intended to perform it on 100 sheets in various engraving techniques. William wanted to show how the landscape developed in European painting. This venture, however, failed. Nevertheless, Turner trained in this work a group of excellent engravers.

In the 1820s-1930s, William worked on an order for the design of works by English writers Walter Scott and Samuel Rogers. Books of these authors enjoyed great success, so engravings from William's drawings hung in virtually every English house.

"Ulysses Mocked Polyphemus"

In 1829, after a trip to Italy, the artist created one of the best in his work of historical paintings. The work is called "Ulysses ridicules Polyphemus." Ruskin called this painting his "central work". "Ulysses" - a work that was called opera decor, melodrama. It was noted that the sun was flooding the Ulysses galley, even in parts where its rays could not penetrate, and that the contrast between the glitter of the morning sky and the darkness of the Cyclops cave was too great. However, William of inaccuracy of this kind has never been embarrassed. He increased the size of the bell towers and locks, moved them where he felt necessary, if the structure of the picture required this. In addition, Turner often increased the sonority of color, when from this the expressiveness of the whole won.

"Fire of the London Parliament"

The peak of Turner's skill dates back to the mid-1830s. William gave lessons at the opening day of painting, finishing here his paintings. In front of astonished artists and an enthusiastic audience, in a few hours Turner practically completed work on the "Fire of the London Parliament", a painting in 1835. The fire itself happened a year earlier, in 1834. Hundreds of people watched the drama. Turner was deeply shocked by this raging element. Right on the spot, the artist made 9 watercolors. And a year later, based on them, he painted a large oil painting.

"The last voyage of the ship Brave"

This work was first introduced in 1839. She is one of the best in William's work. It is known that the artist greatly valued this work, was so attached to her that he did not agree to sell at any price.

Turner portrayed the setting sun, against the background of the fiery clouds from which we see the movement of the "Brave". It's a warship, a veteran of the Battle of Trafalgar. A small self-propelled vessel of coal-black color tows to the bank of the Thames a combat general. Here it will be dismantled. Most likely, the plot of the picture was born in the imagination of William, and was not copied from nature. The sad and lyrical image of a dilapidated ship represents the past era of sailing ships. In addition, it serves as a reminder of the perishability of all things.

"The Slave Ship"

The slave trade for several centuries has been one of the most important items in England's income. Parliament under Turner's life passed a law under which trafficking in persons was prohibited. However, for a long time, the stain on the conscience of the nation bothered the imagination of poets, writers and artists. The picture is based on a real event. The captain, who transported the slaves, decided to throw overboard people who had fallen ill with cholera, because by law he could get insurance only for those who died in the sea. Thus, having freed from excess cargo, the ship departs from the storm. The slaves thrown by them are dying in the waves. Their bodies are tormented by predatory fish, because of which the water is stained with blood.

Later work of Turner

It should be noted that the late work of Turner is written in transparent, light, quick strokes. The artist preferred light colors, loved white and shades of brown and yellow flowers. He never used black and green colors in his works. Creativity Turner in the 1840s became increasingly incomprehensible to the public. The artist then painted streams of rain through which the contours of the steamboat can barely be seen (the picture of 1832 of Staffa, Fingal's Cave), the slave ship from which the Negroes are pushed into the sea (the above-mentioned work "The Slave Ship" of 1840), the rushing train A picture of 1844 "Rain, steam and speed"). Thus, William rather unexpectedly and sensitively responded to contemporary events. It seemed to him exciting and poetic achievements of technological progress, and people's actions were cruel and disgusting.

"Rain, steam and speed"

This work was presented at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1844. From the depths of space filled with smoke and steam, a train on a bridge over the River Thames rushes towards the viewer. The contours of the machine spread out, its details blend into the brown spot. This creates the impression of rapid movement. To this work Turner contemporaries were skeptical. Many of them expressed doubts about the reality of the depicted scene.

Testament of William

William Turner, whose paintings no longer enjoyed the former popularity, gradually began to lose interest in the public. He rarely exhibited work, hiding for a long time from fans and friends. William died, leaving a long will to his descendants. His last will was to open on his means a house for the elderly artists, as well as a gallery of his paintings. In addition, he wanted to create a class of landscape painting in the academy. However, it turned out differently: paintings, sketches and watercolors are the only legacy left by William Turner. His paintings captured the amazing world that the artist saw. They managed to immortalize the name of their creator.

Turner William Joseph, whose works still arouse great interest all over the world today, is a recognized master, who is especially appreciated by the Impressionists. In his work they are attracted by the cut-off effects, the motifs of the sea and snowy weather, the richness of the shades of white. Although it should be noted that the type of "landscape-catastrophe", so widely represented in William's works, is alien to them.