National Gallery of Australia presents Turner from the Tate: The Making of a Master an exhibition on view 1 June – 8 September 2013.
J.M.W. Turner, Britain, 1775–1851, Scarborough town and castle: morning:boys catching crabs, c.1810, London, watercolour on paper, 68.5 x 101.5 cm;Gift from the collection of the late Mrs S.M. Crabtree by her children Rosalind,Robert, Richard and John assisted by the Roy and Marjory Edwards Bequest Fund and the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation to commemorate the Gallery’s 125th anniversary 2006.
Turner from the Tate offers fresh perspectives on J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) Britain’s most renowned artist, a key figure of the Romantic period. Throughout his career, Turner revolutionised the idea of landscape painting. From detailed examinations of topographical scenes, to highly experimental renditions of mountain and sea scapes, the artist shows his mastery of the mediums of oil watercolour painting.
Turner from the Tate includes many of the artist’s most famous paintings. London’s Tate, the institution from where the exhibition is drawn, holds the largest collection of Turner’s works in the world, as a result of the Turner Bequest, which was the artist’s gift to the British people.
Turner’s career began in the turbulent times of war with the Continent, which meant that his travels were initially confined to England, Wales and Scotland. There he honed his extraordinary skills in drawings and paintings of idyllic rural views, castles and patriotic themes. When peace returned, he travelled to France, Germany, Switzerland and finally Italy, the artistic home of his heroes Nicholas Poussin and Claude Lorrain. Turner was highly successful, eccentric in manner, and unique in his artistic achievements.
The exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of Turner’s monumental landscapes and atmospheric, light-filled seascapes, while offering extraordinary insights into his working life and practice. The exhibition includes over 110 works, ranging from expansive oil paintings and watercolours to intimate sketches, as well as Turner’s own paintbox and sketchbooks.
Turner from the Tate features remarkable paintings of iconic subjects, such as the exquisite Venice, the Bridge of Sighs 1840. Ambitious early works combine with mid-career paintings such as The fall of an avalanche in the Grisons 1810, which has drama and pathos. The exhibition culminates with powerful seascapes, including A disaster at sea c.1835 depicting the notorious wreck of a convict ship bound for New South Wales, in which all the women and children aboard drowned. nga.gov.au