When he was still in college, Turner began to submit his works to the annual spring exhibition. The exhibition is the most important stage in London's art world, and painters can make a name for themselves and get funding. From 65438 to 0790, he began to show exquisite watercolors to exhibitions, but he soon realized that he had to be proficient in oil painting to achieve the success he expected. So, at 1796, he exhibited his first oil painting. However, what can best show his ambition is his work in another exhibition in the same year, a watercolor painting inside Westminster Abbey. The church is also the most important national cemetery. Turner engraved his name and date of birth on the tombstone in the foreground of the picture, suggesting that he will have a place here in the future. Facts have proved that this bold self-confidence is not illusory. He did succeed, but he guessed the wrong place: he ended up in the cemetery of St. Paul's Cathedral, buried with other artists and national heroes, including General horatio nelson.
Turner, who is determined to stay at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, has absorbed the existing styles of landscape painting and ocean painting for several years. Before 1800, the status of paintings with this theme in academic circles was far lower than that of historical themes, but Turner was always willing to break the strict category definition. He introduced rich narrative into landscape painting, endowed it with unique atmosphere and dramatic effect, and developed his own historical landscape painting. Then, based on the achievements of J.R. Cozens (1752 ~1797) and R. Veisto (1765 ~1836) in watercolor painting, we used strong tones and applied them. This all-out attack, coupled with the challenge to authoritative critics such as J. Farrington (1747 ~1821), made Turner a dazzling star among the younger generation. /kloc-0 was elected as an associate member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at the end of July, 1999. 1802 became the youngest artist to receive this honor. His outstanding achievements in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts naturally attracted many nobles who loved art to entrust him with painting, and he also got tickets to the upper class, thus getting in touch with the best art collection in Britain, because there was no National Gallery in Britain before 1824, and the collections were all in private hands.
Turner's works present a strong visual effect. Although they were similar to the British avant-garde art at that time (abandoning the smooth picture style from France), in the early years of the19th century, conservative voices began to accuse his style of not improving the scenes he painted. Some critics wrote an article in 180 1 porcupine, accusing its vague style of "covering up its imprudence". Since then, the evaluation of Turner's exhibited works is mainly based on such slander. Equally important is the private criticism of peers. Many people think that his paintings lack integrity. For example, john hoppner (1758~ 18 10) saw Turner's works based on his first trip to Europe in 1802, and was surprised at the roughness and lack of polishing of these works. "There are so many things to guess that it feels like staring at a burning coal fire or an old wall. Others, such as constable and James Northcote (1746~ 183 1), think that Turner's works are "more and more grandiose and farther away from nature".
Turner seems to care about these comments, because in the mid-1800' s, he began to feel the original appearance of nature directly in the outdoor natural air of plein air on the Thames, and reconsidered how to reproduce this original appearance in his paintings. At that time, many young artists in Britain were trying to sketch outdoors. They realized that early landscape painters, such as claude lorrain (about 1604/5~ 1682) and Nicholas Pu Sang (1594~ 1665) first sketched in the Roman countryside, and then took these exercises with them. Turner thinks that Lorraine's works are far better than those of his French compatriot Pu Sang. They are models of landscape painting, perhaps the essence of landscape painting. The composition of Roland's works is elegant, although it seems a bit rigid, but it reproduces the harmonious picture of classical society, and the scene and narrative are organically combined and inseparable. In the 1790 s, Turner first saw Lorraine's works and was deeply shocked. Lorraine's subtle grasp of light touched Turner, who admitted that he could not imitate them.
However, Turner was not discouraged by this, but wanted to surpass his example without hesitation, which became the central task of his historical painting. Roland was regarded as the most famous landscape painter by connoisseurs, and a large number of works became the collections of British collectors, which undoubtedly affected Turner's goal. Although Turner obviously catered to the tastes and wallets of British collectors, he was not satisfied with merely imitating Lorraine's works, but added a remarkable British theme, organically combining imagination with reality. In his paintings based on the Thames sketch created after 1805, we can see that he is looking at the local scenery from Roland's perspective. In the Thames in Weybridge (about 1806, Petworth Manor), the Thames near Windsor (about 1806, Petworth Manor) and Richmond Hill and Bridge (Tate, 1808), Turner naturally pinned his pastoral nostalgia on the realistic perspective and theme.
In fact, Turner's attention to the riverside scenery has long aroused people's nostalgia. Throughout the18th century, poets and poets have been chanting poems. Thomson's Wind Harp is Turner's most attractive work of Lorraine painting. It has a bird's-eye view of the Thames at Weicon Hamm from Richmond Hill, and quotes the works of two poets. The two poets are alexander pope (1688~ 1744) and James Thomson (1700~ 1748), both of whom once lived here. In some early exhibitions, Turner added the titles of literary works to the exhibition catalogue of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, many of which came from Thomson's poems. Sometimes, he adds his own poems to make his works more meaningful, just like this orchestral piano by Thomson, which was created in 1809. In the next 40 years, he used this method all the time, but the poet who quoted the most became Byron (1788~ 1824), occasionally quoting poems from the epic The Fallacy of Hope, which he was writing but never published. It is worth paying attention to looking for an auxiliary means of expression so strongly to make up for the simple visual expression, especially Turner, who is often regarded as a person who is not good at words. Later generations may be able to guess Turner's intention from his diary full of poems. He tried to distinguish the different roles of poets and painters. Among the ideas he has combed, the most basic point is that the painter can only describe what he sees, while the poet's imagination is infinite. However, such a simple distinction can not meet Turner's artistic goals. As E. Joll said in 1979, Turner "hopes to make all works of art higher than nature", which requires re-integrating the basic elements of the picture according to experience and wisdom.
Turner began to set foot in poetry creation and explored the category of landscape painting in theory. The latter is reflected in two aspects: first, his series of copperplate works "Liber Studiorum" influenced by Roland can be regarded as a declaration of his artistic ideal; Secondly, he was a professor of perspective at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (1807 to 1837, and only taught occasionally after 1828). Although the students were impressed by his unique example chart, most people thought that his lecture (if they listened) was only a cut and paste of early perspective works. His most successful speech was the importance of "background" in painting, which became the most passionate lesson in the history of landscape painting. These teaching activities took up a lot of his time and energy, and finally consolidated his leading position in this art. Another factor that consolidated his position was that he opened his personal gallery 1804 in Harry Street in April. The reason why he did this may be because there was a major disagreement within the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. More importantly, you can arrange exhibitions freely after starting your own business, and you can show some works that may be considered too radical in public art exhibitions. Benjamin West (1738~ 1820), an American who was then the president of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, once pointed out that Turner's landscape painting on the Thames in the college was just an "ugly stain" and "nothing could be worse".
During this period, domestic disparaging voices gradually gained momentum, especially the petty Sir George Beaumont (1753~ 1827). The rich aristocrat represented the authority of taste at that time, and he also created art himself, but his painting concept was very conservative. Starting from 1806, he compared Turner with A.W. Kalcott (1779~ 1844) and John krom (1768 ~ 18265438+). The change of new light color in Turner's picture stems from his abandoning the traditional composition technique of dark background and painting on a white background, which is more like painting on a bright surface with watercolor. This technique is particularly effective in reproducing subtle changes in air. For example, in Turner's Frosty Morning, the biting cold in English winter seems to come from the painting. In the technique of reappearing light and scenery, Turner's paintings boldly broke through the tradition and won the admiration of Monet after his death. Monet said the painting was "painted with your eyes open". However, at that time, some people could not accept this avant-garde painting. Just three years after the publication of Fog Morning, essayist William? William Hazlitt (1778–1830) commented on Turner's landscape paintings. He may have considered this painting and Blizzard: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps in 18 12, and thought that Turner's landscape painting showed that "the whole painting is air, soil and water because of the painting." His profundity then concluded: "Artists are willing to return to the chaotic state at the beginning of their creation, to the moment when the land and water just separated day and night. At that time, there were no living things and no trees bearing fruit on the earth, and it was empty. Some people say that his landscape painting is' empty', which I think is very appropriate. "
On the screen of Fog Morning, there is an oncoming carriage on the left side of the path, which is an important scene in Turner's life. Since he was a teenager, he has been to many places. Every summer, he sketched in different places in England and traveled hundreds of miles. In the days of traveling all the year round, he drew a lot of sketches and accumulated valuable visual materials, which became the starting point for him to switch from watercolor to oil painting and copperplate printing, and also became the most important means for him to expand his audience outside the city. Through constant practice, he realized his own vision. When sketching, he hardly needs to paint on the spot. He only needs a few strokes to outline the outline, and then he can turn it into a colorful watercolor masterpiece with many local characteristics. He once claimed that pencil sketches of 15 to 16 could be drawn with a watercolor painting technique. Turner's watercolors more vividly reproduce the British landscape than his oil paintings, including its rich landforms, changeable weather and increasingly urbanized scenes. These great achievements are inseparable from his sketches, from which we can see his interest in exploring the source and his constant reflection and definition of what he saw. As A Wilton said, "His sketches are the embodiment of his ideological activities." 18 19 At the beginning of this year, many of Turner's most creative watercolors (including some oil paintings) were bought by the anti-slavery Whig aristocrat W. Fox (1769~ 1825). Fox lives in Farnley Hall near Leeds, Yorkshire. Since 1808, Fox has often invited Turner to participate in some projects, such as collecting bird specimens, integrating him into his family, and entrusting him with painting mansions and manors. Fox has been paying close attention to the evolution of Turner's painting style, so he can accept and appreciate Turner's bold innovation more than most people, and look for opportunities to collect his new works, such as 18 17 Rhine scenery series and Dordrecht's lazy and honey-toned scenery. 1865438+From April to June 2009, Fox displayed his exquisite collection in his London mansion. Undoubtedly, the most popular is120 watercolors created by Turner when he first went to the Alps in 802, which are comparable to oil paintings in both expressiveness and technique. Fox's exhibition was held very timely, and the Battle of Waterloo was over. This is an era of high patriotism. Watercolor painting is regarded as an original art in Britain, and Turner is the number one representative of this art, and his reputation is unprecedentedly consolidated. The media unanimously praised Turner's achievements and called him a master of magic in the art world. This is rare.
Listening to the cheers of critics, Turner began his first trip to Italy and realized his wish for many years. In hindsight, it was also a transition to the new art direction. The main purpose of this trip is to visit Rome. There, Turner was misunderstood as a court painter. He wanted to paint a batch of paintings for the Regent (but in fact, Turner only painted for the royal family once. Shortly after he returned to London, he created a magnificent painting depicting the naval battle of Trafalgar, but it was not appreciated. He is now in maritime museum, a British country in Greenwich. In the minds of Turner and many people at that time, the understanding of Rome could not be separated from Roland's paintings. However, long before 18 19 left for Rome, his friend Sir Thomas Lawrence pointed out that Turner was the only artist who could deeply understand Italian characteristics like Roland at that time: "The scenery like Italy is very suitable for Turner to fully display his elegant taste and creativity. The harmonious atmosphere here covers everything in the sweetness of milk. In my opinion, only Turner's beautiful colors can express this atmosphere. " What Lawrence expects can be seen in the large-scale oil painting Rome from the Vatican. This painting was exhibited shortly after Turner returned to London in 1820. The foreground of the picture is a little messy, but the whole landscape exudes a "pure, quiet, beautiful and peaceful" atmosphere. In Turner's view, this is the essence of Roland's painting.
Although his trip to Italy is often regarded as a watershed in Turner's painting style, in fact, many changes in his1820s were already brewing before he left England, and his first encounter with Italy became a catalyst. For example, Dortmund or Dortmund Luck: The Dortmund liner from Rotterdam, written in 18 18, has hinted at the trend of changing to bright colors. Similarly, his bold use of pure colors in his later works began with his experimental watercolor sketches as early as the 18 10' s, and even the paintings with Italian themes did not make a clean break with the past (see Baya Bay, Apollo and the prophecy, 1823, Tate Museum). However, the ten years after his return from Rome was undoubtedly a turbulent period, which was not obvious, just because he tirelessly participated in various publishing projects.
During this period, Turner's fame reached its peak, his achievements were obvious to all, and his reputation was worthy of the name. However, his oil paintings are not as popular as those painted on paper. Although some critics have begun to realize that his oil painting is trying to express a poetic landscape, its empty theme and gray tone still confuse many viewers. This is still the case in his hometown of London (the audience here has at least learned about the evolution of his style), and it is conceivable that it has caused more controversy elsewhere. 1828, he stayed in Rome for the second time and exhibited three oil paintings. The result was incomprehensible graffiti, and the yellow in the picture was ridiculed. It is said that a Roman businessman once visited Turner and sarcastically said, "Some people are selling mustard, while others are drawing mustard." Only English people will politely describe their paintings as "by poets". After 50 years old, Turner maintained his dominant position in public exhibitions in London, especially in the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and he adopted a new strategy different from that in the mid-1960s. The competition is fierce, and the huge exhibition hall is full of paintings inside and outside, vying for everyone's attention. George Scarfer's description of the 1828 exhibition vividly illustrates the pivotal position of Turner's works: the masterpiece "Equipment of Dido Commanding Her Fleet" (hidden in the Tate Museum) hangs in the middle of the north wall of the hall, and there is a smaller Turner's work on the right wall, and the light exceeds all the surrounding works. This smaller work is one of two works depicting the scene of Kaus rowing competition. It can be seen from this example that a painting can have a great influence on the surrounding paintings. Turner is sometimes generous. It is said that he took the initiative to tone down the Cologne (1826, Frick Collection, new york) so as not to overshadow the portraits painted by Lawrence on both sides of the painting. However, in these anecdotes about unofficial history, more is how he stole the limelight. Sometimes I am joking, for example, with a group of friends such as george jones (1786~ 1869); Sometimes he is up to no good. For example, he deliberately put some works, which made the opening of Waterloo Bridge (Tate Gallery, 1832) of constable's Grand and Heavy look awkward. Constable had to admit his bad luck and said sadly that Turner came over and "fired a shot."
Since then, Turner has often made his paintings stand out among his peers. His method was to present the paintings that were not actually finished, because there was a tradition at that time. Before the exhibition is open to the public, painters have three days or more, and they can make minor changes to their works. Turner took advantage of this last opportunity to make great changes to his works, adding color and luster, and reached the ultimate presentation. The whole process is a performance in the eyes of peers.
Such a well-balanced acting skill makes people feel that he is indeed an alchemist, and his materials are handy. However, we should also see that his works are open, incomplete in time and space, and sometimes ambiguous, from which we can see the relationship between oil painting and watercolor. In fact, the experience he gained from unrestrained watercolor painting experiments has had an increasing influence on his oil painting creation. For example, in 18 10, he tried to draw several paintings on paper at the same time, and it seems that this method was also used in oil painting in the next ten years. In addition, a number of late unfinished oil paintings were discovered in the 20th century, all of which were Turner's works when he was creating landscape paintings, which were comparable to hundreds of watercolors in The Beginning of Color. One of the exercises on a steam turbine on the Thames seems to be an exercise for the picturesque scenery of England and Wales. It has a typical schematic diagram and unresolved features, providing a variety of options, each of which seems to have the possibility of further polishing. The expansibility of these works can still be seen in his final works in the last 20 years of his artistic career, and the fuzziness of these works has become the most interesting topic in later critics.
Although later generations think that the expressive paintings and simplified pictures in Turner's mature works are its most essential features, his contemporaries seem to be more willing to buy reprinted black and white prints. On the surface, when making prints, the vitality and changes in the original work will be weakened by the precise and delicate lines, but Turner seems to think that his watercolor painting is only a transition, and only after carving into prints can the final form of the work be obtained through delicate contrast between light and shade. It is not surprising that his contemporaries are interested in these prints, because he has printed many works involving more than 800 subjects, and his name is often seen in literary prints. These black and white prints have diverse themes, and Turner also strictly controls the engraving quality, which is very important for consolidating his reputation. Turner has been cooperating with publishers all his life, effectively bridging the gap between artistic concept and artistic reality, so that his paintings can be appreciated by more people. After these prints came out in London, they soon spread to Paris, Berlin and Philadelphia, such as his paintings of the riverside scenery in France. At that time, people will be very excited to get a new book with Turner's illustrations, which is unimaginable in an era when images can be spread all over the world simultaneously. After 1830, people are more eager for Turner's prints, which is attributed to his great success in illustrating Samuel Rogers' poem Italy. In fact, they will even usurp the role of master, and the light will drown out poetry. Walter scott is an example. In the early1820s, he asked Turner to make pictures for his works, but he had to part ways with him because Turner was too powerful. However, at 183 1, when the publisher planned to launch a new version of Scott, he insisted on inviting Turner to join us. "With Mr. Turner's illustrations, I can guarantee that the sales of poetry books will exceed 8,000 copies, or even 3,000 copies will not be sold." This year, the British novelist and poet had to compromise and invited Turner to his home again, when Turner was sketching on the romantic Staffa Island on the west coast.
It is in "Finger Hole on Staffa Island" (1832, New Haven, Yale University) and other works that Turner reproduces a unique picture of modern life by depicting the steam turbine traveling against the turbulent storm clouds, not only because he depicts the inventions in the new era of steam, but also because he implies that these new inventions have lofty heroism. Turner often added scenes from the industrial age to his watercolors, the most famous of which were Leeds and Dudley, but he also often added the machine itself that caused the change, which was ugly and indecent to people at that time. This theme reached its climax in Rain, Steam, Speed-Great Western Railway, and a galloping steam train seemed to rush out of the picture and come straight at the audience. It is worth noting that this kind of painting didn't get due attention until 1980s, because john ruskin's five-volume Modern Painter (1843~ 1860) was the most influential Turner research work in the 9th century, but this kind of work was basically excluded. Ruskin saw that Turner was increasingly ridiculed in the late1830s and early1840s, and felt it necessary to defend Turner. Turner received the most criticism during this period because of the lack of clear connection between the things depicted and the expressions. Therefore, Ruskin focused his defense on the most faithful place to nature in painting. In view of this, Ruskin's exposition may be focused, not comprehensive. However, Ruskin's works are highly sought after by readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and he is more tolerant of Turner's works. Although Ruskin tried to defend him, many people still thought Turner's later works were obscure and regarded them as "dreams, challenges, theories, experiments and fallacies".
1843, the first volume of Ruskin's Modern Painter was published, which also helped Turner economically. It rekindled buyers' interest in Turner's unsold paintings. However, many anecdotes show that Turner is a little uneasy about this young admirer trying to interpret his life's works. In fact, it took him a long time to thank Ruskin, probably because he was too confident to be introduced. After years of constant criticism, he seems to be used to the ridicule of critics and wisely admits that all criticisms, no matter how terrible, have their uses. But he is still eager to be appreciated, which is the driving force of his struggle when he was young, and Ruskin's works once again make him revered, and there will inevitably be a little satisfaction in his heart.
It is common that an artist may gradually fall out of favor while he is alive, and his works will be loved again after his death. To some extent, Turner began to prepare for such a fate as early as 1820s. At this time, he first found that his works were difficult to sell, so he drafted his first will and made it clear that he wanted to hang his two paintings in the new National Art Museum, next to the two most famous works in Lorraine. This shows that he hopes that his position in the history of art can be regarded as the successor of Roland, the greatest landscape painter in the17th century, and it can also show his new achievements in carrying forward the past into the future. In addition to this sense of pride, old Turner often compares himself with himself when he reviews his achievements. Perhaps it is for this reason that he created a series of Swiss landscape paintings for the last time in the early days of 1965-438+0840s. These works are technically perfect, no less than the level when he painted for Fox twenty or thirty years ago, further consolidating his reputation as the greatest watercolor painter.