February 2010
The tree-lined walk from Pimlico station
It was a cold but crisp day
The entrance..
It was thanks to Ad Lee that i got to see the exhibition at all
he was coming to London for a business trip and he alerted me to it
and so, we decided to meet up on the last day of the exhibition
so we could catch up (after 3 years!) and see it together
and.. what an exhibition!
I guess it was the way he was portrayed
I had the feeling that Turner was a very competitive man
and less flattering, a total copy cat
who didn't always succeed in trying to surpass the original artist
Dutch Boats in a Gale was commissioned as an accompaniment to A Rising Gale by Willem Van de Valde
Bolder, more dramatic..
but it definitely lacked the fitnesse of Van de Valde
yes, he was young then, only 22.. but i think it was his style
I thought he tended to dramatise things
If Poussin's Deluge was despair, then Turner's was a horrific tragedy
It was, i guess, meant to depict winter
But i couldn't help thinking of Cyclone Nargis
It made me choke
In that way, his paintings did affect the viewer .. a lot
Rembrandt seemed to be one of his heroes
he was so impressed by the lighting in The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
that he tried to achieve the same effect in one of his paintings..
unfortunately, he didn't quite manage
and so, my first impression of him wasn't great at all
The first painting i liked of his was Summer's Evening Twilight
I thought he was great with landscapes and seascapes
I quite liked Crossing the Brook
it was paired with Moses Saved from the Waters by Claude Lorrain
I don't know why though, i was so un-impressed by that green tree top
it was like he got fed up, and decided to just give up the details
it was the same in Palestrina's Composition
There was so much detail at the bottom.. and the tree tops just lost it
i spoke to an elderly couple about it and they quite agreed!
He did have a distinctive style, i suppose
what was described in Wiki as "pre-impressionism"
that though didn't lend itself to depicting facial expressions
i felt he really shouldn't have tried to compete against Wilkie
The Blind Fiddler was far superior to The Country Blacksmith
His Jessica was truly awful
i'd never seen a painting exhibited quite like it
(except when they call it modern art)
he did better with Venus and Adonis
but still lacking the definition of the masters
I thought he failed miserably trying to copy Titian's Virgin and child
his Holy Family looked dawdy in comparison
And so, instead of being raptured by Turner
i was generally more awestruck by the (great) artists he tried to copy/compete with
I've never (not that I remember) seen Rembrandt..
and I was just so impressed
Christ and the woman taken in adultery was said to have such an effect on viewers that everyone approaching it would bow
For me, it was the Holy family at night
Something about it just drew me in
I absolutely loved Rubens' Landscape by Moonlight
i just love the colours..
especially the reflection in the water
I thought Canaletto paints like photos in HD.. an olden day architect
amazing detail and precision
i was awstruck by The Bridges of Sighs
This photo doesn't do justice to his art
Turner's own version of Bridges of Sighs was, as his style, much less precise
faded pastorals and dreamy blues
i liked his Venice paintings
i think his style suited the romance
I thought he also did quite well with artist biographies
I liked his tribute to Rafael: Rome, from the Vatican
Though i still think expressions are not his forte
the faces were just that bit odd, like they were wearing too much make up
Even in his 40's, he was such a fiercly competitive man
in 1832, he asked George Jones what he was painting for the Academy
and then proceeded to paint exactly the same subject matter..
The Burning Fiery Furnace: Turner vs Jones
If that was friendly, his rivalry with John Constable was an all-out war
(as attested by many articles I found thanks to Google)
also in 1832, when Constable was putting the final touches to The Opening of Waterloo Bridge
Turner decided his seascape Helvoetsluys was too sedate to be eye-catching
and so, at the last minute, placed a daub of red paint to attract attention
it worked
He was still trying to copy Rembrandt in the 1830's
so he painted Pilate washing his hands, making it difficult to interpret
with Pilate almost impossible to find in the painting
(I still haven't spotted him even though the caption said he was in the far left corner)
Other than the Venice paintings, i liked:
. Snow storm
. Landscape, with woman, with tambourine
. and of course, his legacy, Sun rising through Vapour
I wish i didn't book afternoon tickets back
i could have spent at least one more hour in that exhibition
and definitely a few hours in the rest of the Tate
oh well..
Turner was a great artist in his own right
if distracted by too many things
he wanted to do everything everyone else did
I'm afraid i'm a little like him.. Lots of Envy
thinking I could do that too!
so..
yes, it was not only an education but also a good trip in self-reflection
hmm!
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