"It is only when we are no longer fearful that we begin to create."
From humble beginnings
Born on April 23, 1775, in the vibrant hub of Covent Garden, London, Joseph Mallord William Turner entered a world bursting with colour and vitality. His father, a barber and wig-maker, and his mother, hailing from a butcher’s lineage, had modest means. Despite their limited circumstances, their simple home became the backdrop for Turner’s artistic odyssey.
From a young age, Turner displayed a knack for drawing. His sketches were proudly exhibited by his father in the barbershop window, an impromptu gallery for the emerging artist. Unfortunately, his mother’s mental health deteriorated, casting a shadow over Turner’s formative years. Her affliction eventually led to her institutionalisation, undoubtedly leaving a profound impact on the young artist’s psyche. Turner’s enduring affinity for nature is believed to have sprung from his yearning to find escape and reprieve from this turbulent domestic life.
The Royal Academy years
At the tender age of 14, Turner gained admission to the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts. Here, he flourished under the tutelage of Thomas Malton, a respected artist and architectural draftsman. Turner’s watercolour sketches from this period revealed an innate ability to capture the essence of light and the natural world, an impressive feat considering that he was one of the youngest students ever admitted to the academy at the time.
Turner’s unique style evolved during his time at the Academy. Inspired by the great masters like Claude Lorrain, he honed his skills in landscape painting, transforming ordinary subjects into ethereal, dream-like scenes.
By the time he was 21, Turner had already exhibited his work at the Royal Academy, with his painting “Fishermen at Sea” (1796) receiving widespread acclaim for its dramatic use of chiaroscuro.
Driven by competition
In the competitive world of art, Turner found both allies and rivals. He shared a complex relationship with Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Academy’s first president, who both mentored and challenged him. Turner also formed friendships with contemporaries like John Constable, whose landscapes often depicted a more rustic, pastoral England compared to Turner’s dramatic seascapes and skies.
Turner’s competitive spirit spurred him to create breathtaking masterpieces that would leave a lasting impression on the art world. His desire to outshine his peers drove him to constantly innovate and experiment, pushing what was deemed artistically acceptable. In contrast to the defined, realist paintings of the time, Turner sought to create something more expressive, with the spontaneity and fluidity of his brushwork setting him apart from the rigidity of his peers and predecessors.
Turner’s landscapes often possessed an almost dreamlike quality, with elements blending into one another, capturing the ever-changing and sometimes tumultuous nature of the environment. One such example is his painting Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps (1812), where he daringly blurred the lines between the sky and earth, creating a swirling vortex of snow and wind that encapsulated the power of nature.
This groundbreaking approach to painting later paved the way for the Impressionist movement, as artists like Monet and Renoir took inspiration from Turner’s innovative use of light and colour.
