J.M.W. TURNER (1775-1851)
See also : George I-III George IV to Victoria UK II Ancient drawing Alps Cities Venice
Chronology : 1800-1809 1810-1819 1830-1839 1840-1849
Chronology : 1800-1809 1810-1819 1830-1839 1840-1849
1808 Pope's Villa at Twickenham by Turner
2008 SOLD for £ 5.4M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
The young Turner is a great admirer of poets, whom he wishes to equal with his graphic art. He specializes in landscapes. Following the example of Le Lorrain, he assembles from 1807 a set of studies which will serve as models for his later work and for the prints.
Turner wants to express the deep truth of nature. He explores the Thames and buys a piece of land at Twickenham in 1807. He builds there from 1812 his personal lodge according to his own taste.
A century earlier, Twickenham was the home of wealthy Londoners who wanted to escape the city. In 1719 the poet Alexander Pope had built an opulent three-story house on the banks of the Thames, and his garden was designed to shelter the Muses.
Baroness Howe of Langar bought this estate in 1807. The memory of Pope was still attracting many visitors. To protect her peace of living, she has the villa destroyed. Of course Turner is deeply frustrated and irritated by this decision which diminishes the touristic attraction of this village which he had just chosen for himself.
The view of the Pope villa by Turner is an oil on canvas 92 x 120 cm painted in 1808. Already aiming to match the brightness of the watercolors, he had coated the canvas with a white primer.
The scene is pastoral, with small quiet figures, a young couple of shepherds, a few sheep, in the beautiful light of an autumn evening. Beyond the river, the building is the symbol of the ephemeral character of human achievements : it has already lost its roof and the windows are gaping.
He exhibited it in his gallery in London, which he has been using since 1804 to attract customers and art critics. The success of this work which expresses a poetic sensitivity with a high quality of execution is considerable. At 33, he is the best landscape painter of his time.
This painting was sold for £ 5.4M including premium by Sotheby's on July 9, 2008. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Turner wants to express the deep truth of nature. He explores the Thames and buys a piece of land at Twickenham in 1807. He builds there from 1812 his personal lodge according to his own taste.
A century earlier, Twickenham was the home of wealthy Londoners who wanted to escape the city. In 1719 the poet Alexander Pope had built an opulent three-story house on the banks of the Thames, and his garden was designed to shelter the Muses.
Baroness Howe of Langar bought this estate in 1807. The memory of Pope was still attracting many visitors. To protect her peace of living, she has the villa destroyed. Of course Turner is deeply frustrated and irritated by this decision which diminishes the touristic attraction of this village which he had just chosen for himself.
The view of the Pope villa by Turner is an oil on canvas 92 x 120 cm painted in 1808. Already aiming to match the brightness of the watercolors, he had coated the canvas with a white primer.
The scene is pastoral, with small quiet figures, a young couple of shepherds, a few sheep, in the beautiful light of an autumn evening. Beyond the river, the building is the symbol of the ephemeral character of human achievements : it has already lost its roof and the windows are gaping.
He exhibited it in his gallery in London, which he has been using since 1804 to attract customers and art critics. The success of this work which expresses a poetic sensitivity with a high quality of execution is considerable. At 33, he is the best landscape painter of his time.
This painting was sold for £ 5.4M including premium by Sotheby's on July 9, 2008. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1816 Turner inspired by the Greeks
2009 SOLD 13 M$ including premium
In one of my first articles (in French only), I introduced an oil on canvas painted in 1808 by Turner. This work of his youth, 91 x 120 cm, caused by the planned destruction of Pope's villa at Twickenham, was sold £ 5.4 million including expenses by Sotheby's in London on 9 July 2008.
We come again at Sotheby's, this time in New York to find a large oil on canvas by the artist, 117 x 178 cm, for sale on January 29.
It is a temple of Jupiter Panellenius (ie friend of the Greeks). This painting is later (1816), but the composition is similar to that of 1808: an animated green leads to a remote monument, flooded with sunlight, which is the strong point of the image. The characters of the English villa were walkers. Those of the temple, dressed according to antique fashion, play a round dance.
Turner made only three paintings inspired by Greece. We must see the influence of the romantic come back to the antique (that at that time influenced also the cloth fashion) and not a political mood, as the movements that would lead to the independence of Greece were just beginning in 1816.
Considering its great size, this Turner painting is probably one of the most important to be still in private hands. It expects $ 12 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sotheby's knows the market for Turner. The result is in line with forecasts: $ 13 million including premium.
We come again at Sotheby's, this time in New York to find a large oil on canvas by the artist, 117 x 178 cm, for sale on January 29.
It is a temple of Jupiter Panellenius (ie friend of the Greeks). This painting is later (1816), but the composition is similar to that of 1808: an animated green leads to a remote monument, flooded with sunlight, which is the strong point of the image. The characters of the English villa were walkers. Those of the temple, dressed according to antique fashion, play a round dance.
Turner made only three paintings inspired by Greece. We must see the influence of the romantic come back to the antique (that at that time influenced also the cloth fashion) and not a political mood, as the movements that would lead to the independence of Greece were just beginning in 1816.
Considering its great size, this Turner painting is probably one of the most important to be still in private hands. It expects $ 12 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sotheby's knows the market for Turner. The result is in line with forecasts: $ 13 million including premium.
1822 Wet in Wet by Turner
2019 SOLD for £ 1.1M including premium
From his beginning Turner had understood that watercolor could bring beautiful effects comparable to oil, and even better for sunrises and sunsets. He will be the greatest experimenter of this technique throughout his life.
He had predecessors and friends. A stopper varnish to limit the expansion of a color was used before him. Girtin obtains atmosphere and light by his washes on large surfaces. Cozens adapts oil techniques to watercolor for his romantic chiaroscuro.
Turner's great contribution to the art of watercolor is his almost systematic use of wet in wet from around 1815. The color diluted on a wet paper allows to easily prepare the background of the image, offering by simple movements of paper and brush the gradual hues that will make the beauty of the final artwork. After drying, it will of course remain to draw and color the figures that animate the scene. This technique enables to make very large watercolors.
On the other hand, his ambition to reconcile his extreme subtlety of contrasts with the techniques of printing has certainly disconcerted his most benevolent editors.
On July 3 in London, Sotheby's sells a watercolor 43 x 65 cm painted in 1822, lot 417 estimated £ 800K. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This view of Margate at sunrise displays a strong animation of fishermen in the taste of the previous English scenes of the artist. It was conceived as part of a series of Marine Views that was not published following a disagreement between Turner and his editor. A mezzotint engraving of this specific image of Margate was however printed in 1825.
He had predecessors and friends. A stopper varnish to limit the expansion of a color was used before him. Girtin obtains atmosphere and light by his washes on large surfaces. Cozens adapts oil techniques to watercolor for his romantic chiaroscuro.
Turner's great contribution to the art of watercolor is his almost systematic use of wet in wet from around 1815. The color diluted on a wet paper allows to easily prepare the background of the image, offering by simple movements of paper and brush the gradual hues that will make the beauty of the final artwork. After drying, it will of course remain to draw and color the figures that animate the scene. This technique enables to make very large watercolors.
On the other hand, his ambition to reconcile his extreme subtlety of contrasts with the techniques of printing has certainly disconcerted his most benevolent editors.
On July 3 in London, Sotheby's sells a watercolor 43 x 65 cm painted in 1822, lot 417 estimated £ 800K. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This view of Margate at sunrise displays a strong animation of fishermen in the taste of the previous English scenes of the artist. It was conceived as part of a series of Marine Views that was not published following a disagreement between Turner and his editor. A mezzotint engraving of this specific image of Margate was however printed in 1825.
1835 Turner over the Tiber
2014 SOLD for £ 30.3M including premium
Turner visited Rome twice, in 1819 and 1828. He was dazzled by that city which was trying to organize its modernity without denying its glorious past. During his first trip, he was concerned about illustration and drew hundreds of sketches of views and monuments. The goal of the second visit was to soak in the atmosphere for producing oils on canvas.
Turner had a friend as difficult as himself in his temper : Hugh Munro of Novar. It was the time of the watercolorist travelers and Munro would have liked to become an artist. Turner tried to help him but the younger man was not skilled. He was to become one of the greatest art collectors of his time.
When Turner returned from Rome, Munro commissioned him with a painting on which the city was to be shown with the greatest topographic truth. Turner reinspected his drawings. The oil on canvas showing the view of Rome from Mount Aventine, 93 x 126 cm, was completed in 1835.
In the morning light, this view is a masterpiece from that period of great maturity of the artist. The blurring by mist above the Tiber is a pre-impressionist feat. The drawing of the urban texture is of high detail all over the huge extent of the city and the animation is nice.
This work could be a pendant with a view from Capitoline hill purchased in 1839 by Munro. Passed in 1878 in the collection of the Earls of Rosebery, both paintings have remained in a fabulous condition. The view from the Capitol was sold for £ 29,7M including premium by Sotheby's on July 7, 2010.
The view over the Tiber is estimated £ 15M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 3, lot 44. I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :
Turner had a friend as difficult as himself in his temper : Hugh Munro of Novar. It was the time of the watercolorist travelers and Munro would have liked to become an artist. Turner tried to help him but the younger man was not skilled. He was to become one of the greatest art collectors of his time.
When Turner returned from Rome, Munro commissioned him with a painting on which the city was to be shown with the greatest topographic truth. Turner reinspected his drawings. The oil on canvas showing the view of Rome from Mount Aventine, 93 x 126 cm, was completed in 1835.
In the morning light, this view is a masterpiece from that period of great maturity of the artist. The blurring by mist above the Tiber is a pre-impressionist feat. The drawing of the urban texture is of high detail all over the huge extent of the city and the animation is nice.
This work could be a pendant with a view from Capitoline hill purchased in 1839 by Munro. Passed in 1878 in the collection of the Earls of Rosebery, both paintings have remained in a fabulous condition. The view from the Capitol was sold for £ 29,7M including premium by Sotheby's on July 7, 2010.
The view over the Tiber is estimated £ 15M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 3, lot 44. I invite you to play the video shared by Sotheby's :
1835 Romantic Pilgrimage in Rhineland
2017 SOLD for £ 18.5M including premium
Turner is an illustrator. His watercolors are used to create collections of images and conversely the engravings are an effective way to disclose his major artworks.
He is also a keen traveler. When touring all over Europe he deliberately walked in the fictional footsteps of Childe Harold, the disillusioned young man of Byron's poem who visited the sites wrought by wars to satisfy his need for freedom.
In 1835 Turner finishes his sublime view showing Rome from the Aventine, oil on canvas 93 x 126 cm. Extending to the oil the traditional technique of watercolor, the superposition of very thin layers of paint brings a transparency that simulates the sunny mist without weakening the details of the drawing. This painting was sold for £ 30.3M including premium by Sotheby's on December 3, 2014.
The artist has reached an agreement for an image of Germany with the engraver John Pye after he had appreciated the quality of the effects of light in his prints. When he receives the promised work, Pye is frightened but it is too late to give up : Turner did not execute a watercolor but an oil on canvas of large size, 93 x 123 cm, with the same subtle hues as in the Roman view. Meeting the requirements of the patron is virtually impossible.
This painting is a view of Ehrenbreitstein, subtitled The Bright Stone of Honour and the Tomb of Marceau from Byron's Childe Harold. The ruined fortress of Ehrenbreitstein which still dominates Koblenz is a symbol of the vanity of the old wars. Marceau is that young French general killed at the age of 27 near Koblenz who had deserved such a reputation for chivalrous bravery that the two hostile armies participated together in his funeral.
Contrary to the Roman view, the view of Rhineland does not seek an overall topographical truth. It is a set of scenes where peasant girls cohabit peacefully with soldiers of both armies.
The painting was finished in 1835. Nine years later Turner became impatient with Pye who succeeded in convincing him that his work was not abandoned. The engraving was printed in 1845 under the pressure of a collector who wanted to buy the original painting to Turner.
The Ehrenbreitstein view is estimated £ 15M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 5, lot 21. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
He is also a keen traveler. When touring all over Europe he deliberately walked in the fictional footsteps of Childe Harold, the disillusioned young man of Byron's poem who visited the sites wrought by wars to satisfy his need for freedom.
In 1835 Turner finishes his sublime view showing Rome from the Aventine, oil on canvas 93 x 126 cm. Extending to the oil the traditional technique of watercolor, the superposition of very thin layers of paint brings a transparency that simulates the sunny mist without weakening the details of the drawing. This painting was sold for £ 30.3M including premium by Sotheby's on December 3, 2014.
The artist has reached an agreement for an image of Germany with the engraver John Pye after he had appreciated the quality of the effects of light in his prints. When he receives the promised work, Pye is frightened but it is too late to give up : Turner did not execute a watercolor but an oil on canvas of large size, 93 x 123 cm, with the same subtle hues as in the Roman view. Meeting the requirements of the patron is virtually impossible.
This painting is a view of Ehrenbreitstein, subtitled The Bright Stone of Honour and the Tomb of Marceau from Byron's Childe Harold. The ruined fortress of Ehrenbreitstein which still dominates Koblenz is a symbol of the vanity of the old wars. Marceau is that young French general killed at the age of 27 near Koblenz who had deserved such a reputation for chivalrous bravery that the two hostile armies participated together in his funeral.
Contrary to the Roman view, the view of Rhineland does not seek an overall topographical truth. It is a set of scenes where peasant girls cohabit peacefully with soldiers of both armies.
The painting was finished in 1835. Nine years later Turner became impatient with Pye who succeeded in convincing him that his work was not abandoned. The engraving was printed in 1845 under the pressure of a collector who wanted to buy the original painting to Turner.
The Ehrenbreitstein view is estimated £ 15M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 5, lot 21. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This Turner masterpiece is going from private hands to open market: could it set a record for British art? @Sothebys https://t.co/BktorQc0NL pic.twitter.com/Wc4aRPGq3n
— AntiquesTradeGazette (@ATG_Editorial) April 4, 2017
1839 Turner on the Roman Hills
2010 SOLD 29.7 M£ including premium
During his two trips to Rome in 1819 and 1828, Turner made studies of panoramas and monuments. The Eternal City has continued to fascinate him: in 1839, he gathers these travel memories to compose a large oil on canvas, 90 x 122 cm.
The artist has placed the easel of his memory at the top of Capitoline Hill. The city lies before him, fully bathed in a wonderful light that enhances the perspective. The foreground is animated with efficiency and discretion by goatherds and peasants.
Do not look for photographic truth in this image. According to the style of that time, the position of the buildings owes more to art than to reality. But it is no longer a capriccio, and ancient and pontifical monuments are finely drawn.
Such a piece on the art market is by itself an event. Its exceptional condition makes it one the most important auction lots of the year. The painting has kept its original freshness and frame. It had been previously only once on the art market, in 1878. The Earl of Rosebery paid 4,450 guineas for it, on the occasion of his honeymoon.
On July 7 in London, Sotheby's announce this masterpiece at 12 million pounds.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate had been underestimated but not the importance of this painting, well relayed by the press releases.
Result: £ 29.7 million including premium.
See below the video shared by Sotheby's and the image shared by Wikimedia :
The artist has placed the easel of his memory at the top of Capitoline Hill. The city lies before him, fully bathed in a wonderful light that enhances the perspective. The foreground is animated with efficiency and discretion by goatherds and peasants.
Do not look for photographic truth in this image. According to the style of that time, the position of the buildings owes more to art than to reality. But it is no longer a capriccio, and ancient and pontifical monuments are finely drawn.
Such a piece on the art market is by itself an event. Its exceptional condition makes it one the most important auction lots of the year. The painting has kept its original freshness and frame. It had been previously only once on the art market, in 1878. The Earl of Rosebery paid 4,450 guineas for it, on the occasion of his honeymoon.
On July 7 in London, Sotheby's announce this masterpiece at 12 million pounds.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate had been underestimated but not the importance of this painting, well relayed by the press releases.
Result: £ 29.7 million including premium.
See below the video shared by Sotheby's and the image shared by Wikimedia :
1841 View of Venice by Turner
2006 SOLD for $ 36M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
Venice had a hard time taming Turner. His first tour of Italy, in 1819, included only a short visit to Venice, which he completely avoided in 1828. Inspired by poets, he conceived his views of Italy and Greece by unleashing his own imagination from sketches brought back by his friends.
Turner had an unlimited confidence in the correctness of his vision. Annoyed by the posthumous influence of Bonington, he exhibited new views of Venice during the summer of 1833 at the Royal Academy, to serve as models of the expression of atmosphere and poetry in painting, without having seen again the City of the Doges. He made his second stay there at the end of the same year and finally considered including Venice in his regular work.
An identical sequence of events took place in 1840, with two views of Venice exhibited at the Royal Academy before his departure for his third and final visit, which lasted two weeks only. This time the ethereal charm of Venice has operated.
In the following years, Turner was making a distinction between the watercolor sketches and the views in larger format which he considered as his finished works, the only ones worthy of being exhibited and sold. His finished views of Switzerland are large watercolors and his finished views of Venice are oils on canvas.
Painted in his studio after his come back, the panoramic views of Venice deserved a larger format than the watercolors. In order not to lose anything in the luminosity and the freshness of the colors, he paints Venice in oil with the same pigments as his watercolors. The pre-impressionist atmosphere also suggests that he had transferred the wet in wet technique of his watercolors onto his canvases, before adding the more realistic narrative drawing of the gondolas.
On April 6, 2006, Christie's sold as lot 97 for $ 36M including premium a view of the Giudecca with La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio. This oil on canvas 61 x 92 cm was prepared by Turner for the 1841 exhibition of the Royal Academy. As often with this artist, the perfection of the composition and the color balance prevail over the topographic reality.
A 24 x 30 cm watercolor showing the Dogana under the new moon was sold for £ 960K including premium by Christie's on July 10, 2014, lot 209. The evanescent clarity may be compared with the atmosphere of the oil on canvas discussed above.
Turner had an unlimited confidence in the correctness of his vision. Annoyed by the posthumous influence of Bonington, he exhibited new views of Venice during the summer of 1833 at the Royal Academy, to serve as models of the expression of atmosphere and poetry in painting, without having seen again the City of the Doges. He made his second stay there at the end of the same year and finally considered including Venice in his regular work.
An identical sequence of events took place in 1840, with two views of Venice exhibited at the Royal Academy before his departure for his third and final visit, which lasted two weeks only. This time the ethereal charm of Venice has operated.
In the following years, Turner was making a distinction between the watercolor sketches and the views in larger format which he considered as his finished works, the only ones worthy of being exhibited and sold. His finished views of Switzerland are large watercolors and his finished views of Venice are oils on canvas.
Painted in his studio after his come back, the panoramic views of Venice deserved a larger format than the watercolors. In order not to lose anything in the luminosity and the freshness of the colors, he paints Venice in oil with the same pigments as his watercolors. The pre-impressionist atmosphere also suggests that he had transferred the wet in wet technique of his watercolors onto his canvases, before adding the more realistic narrative drawing of the gondolas.
On April 6, 2006, Christie's sold as lot 97 for $ 36M including premium a view of the Giudecca with La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio. This oil on canvas 61 x 92 cm was prepared by Turner for the 1841 exhibition of the Royal Academy. As often with this artist, the perfection of the composition and the color balance prevail over the topographic reality.
A 24 x 30 cm watercolor showing the Dogana under the new moon was sold for £ 960K including premium by Christie's on July 10, 2014, lot 209. The evanescent clarity may be compared with the atmosphere of the oil on canvas discussed above.
1841 Heidelberg after the Rain
2013 SOLD 4.6 M$ including premium
Turner is the best illustrator of the European landscapes. In 1840, the engraver Thomas Prior commissions him for a view of Heidelberg. The small town on the Neckar is one of the most enchanting sites, with its bridge, its church, and the ruins of its palace on the hillside.
At 65, Turner is at the top of his art. He retains in his watercolors the exceptional light and iridescence from bad weather conditions. The landscape is always recognizable, and improved with small figures engaged in their daily tasks.
To respond to the order, he sketches Heidelberg when the rain has stopped and the rainbow is just beginning to rise. This large watercolor, 35 x 53 cm, was probably made in 1841. It will be published in 1846 by Prior.
The artwork presents a curiosity that is not a fantasy. Several characters are in medieval costume. Turner remains a witness of his time: the Heidelberg students used to dress in that way.
This is one of the most successful watercolors by Turner. It was rewarded by a price of £ 2M including premium at Sotheby's on 14 June 2001. It is now estimated $ 4M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on January 31. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very interesting example of a view made to order was sold $ 4.6 million including premium.
At 65, Turner is at the top of his art. He retains in his watercolors the exceptional light and iridescence from bad weather conditions. The landscape is always recognizable, and improved with small figures engaged in their daily tasks.
To respond to the order, he sketches Heidelberg when the rain has stopped and the rainbow is just beginning to rise. This large watercolor, 35 x 53 cm, was probably made in 1841. It will be published in 1846 by Prior.
The artwork presents a curiosity that is not a fantasy. Several characters are in medieval costume. Turner remains a witness of his time: the Heidelberg students used to dress in that way.
This is one of the most successful watercolors by Turner. It was rewarded by a price of £ 2M including premium at Sotheby's on 14 June 2001. It is now estimated $ 4M, for sale by Sotheby's in New York on January 31. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This very interesting example of a view made to order was sold $ 4.6 million including premium.
1841 Turner in the Colors of Switzerland
2012 SOLD 1.05 M£ including premium
For a long time, watercolors of Switzerland by Turner are considered as masterpieces, among the most perfect precursors of modern art. Take as an example the auction made by Christie's one hundred years ago, on 5 July 1912.
On that day, the Blue Rigi, 30 x 45 cm, was sold for 2700 guineas. Warm and varied colors supersede the drawing, in the admirable blur of a sunrise. Yet in the foreground, sharp tiny characters observe the landscape from the shores of the Lake of Lucerne.
More recently, the Blue Rigi came back to auction. Sold £ 5.8 million including premium by Christie's on 5 June 2006, this stunning drawing is now owned by Tate Britain.
In the sale of 1912, a smaller watercolor, 23 x 33 cm, was sold at nearly the same price: 2500 guineas. Based on a sketch made in 1841, it shows Lausanne. Colors explode within this remarkable landscape. Small farmers are busy with their daily work.
The watercolor of Lausanne is estimated £ 600K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 4.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good results for three watercolors by Turner.
Lausanne, the main subject of this article, was sold £ 1.05 M. Domleschg reached £ 600K, and a sunset over a lake that had been estimated £ 80K has been sold £ 530K.
The great surprise of the sale was awarded to a beautiful drawing by Canaletto, sold £ 1.95 million on an estimate of £ 300K.
These prices include premium.
On that day, the Blue Rigi, 30 x 45 cm, was sold for 2700 guineas. Warm and varied colors supersede the drawing, in the admirable blur of a sunrise. Yet in the foreground, sharp tiny characters observe the landscape from the shores of the Lake of Lucerne.
More recently, the Blue Rigi came back to auction. Sold £ 5.8 million including premium by Christie's on 5 June 2006, this stunning drawing is now owned by Tate Britain.
In the sale of 1912, a smaller watercolor, 23 x 33 cm, was sold at nearly the same price: 2500 guineas. Based on a sketch made in 1841, it shows Lausanne. Colors explode within this remarkable landscape. Small farmers are busy with their daily work.
The watercolor of Lausanne is estimated £ 600K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 4.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good results for three watercolors by Turner.
Lausanne, the main subject of this article, was sold £ 1.05 M. Domleschg reached £ 600K, and a sunset over a lake that had been estimated £ 80K has been sold £ 530K.
The great surprise of the sale was awarded to a beautiful drawing by Canaletto, sold £ 1.95 million on an estimate of £ 300K.
These prices include premium.
1842 The Blue Rigi by Turner
2006 SOLD for £ 5.8 M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
Turner is a great innovator of color. He succeeds in applying to oil painting the technique of overlapping wet colors that he had previously developed for watercolor. On his return from his 1840 trip to Venice, he achieves in both techniques the hues halfway between mist and dream for which he is rightly regarded as a precursor of impressionism.
Back again in his workshop after his 1841 trip to Switzerland, he considers that the quality of his watercolors is worthy of his large format "finished" works, the only ones which he offers for sale. In 1842 he prepares fifteen 24 x 30 cm views of Lucerne and its surroundings for demonstrating the light effect to his clients, before copying each sketch in a larger 30 x 45 cm as a single unit. It is likely that this uniqueness enabled him to justify the very high price of these "finished" watercolors, 80 guineas each.
Three of these views show the Rigi beyond the Lake of Lucerne at different hours of the day. The mountain is dark before dawn, blue at sunrise and red at twilight. These pictures precede Monet's variations of light on the Poplars and on the Cathedral of Rouen by half a century, although Turner did not conceive them as a series.
The Blue Rigi is one of four "finished" watercolors that are available before inviting the customers. It is bought by the collector Bicknell, who had acquired a pre-impressionist oil on canvas of the Giudecca in the previous year.
The Blue Rigi was sold for £ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on June 5, 2006, lot 53. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
To serve as a pendant, Bicknell had ordered one of the eleven works remaining to be produced, a view of the Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen which will be sold for £ 2.05M including premium by Sotheby's on July 4, 2018. The choice of this collector was excellent : his oil on canvas from Venice referred above was sold for $ 36M including premium by Christie's on April 6, 2006.
Turner persists in his unprecedented style. A pre-impressionist oil on canvas painted in 1845 showing the seaside at Folkestone was sold for £ 7.4M including premium by Sotheby's on July 5, 1984, the highest price recorded at auction at that time for any work of art.
Back again in his workshop after his 1841 trip to Switzerland, he considers that the quality of his watercolors is worthy of his large format "finished" works, the only ones which he offers for sale. In 1842 he prepares fifteen 24 x 30 cm views of Lucerne and its surroundings for demonstrating the light effect to his clients, before copying each sketch in a larger 30 x 45 cm as a single unit. It is likely that this uniqueness enabled him to justify the very high price of these "finished" watercolors, 80 guineas each.
Three of these views show the Rigi beyond the Lake of Lucerne at different hours of the day. The mountain is dark before dawn, blue at sunrise and red at twilight. These pictures precede Monet's variations of light on the Poplars and on the Cathedral of Rouen by half a century, although Turner did not conceive them as a series.
The Blue Rigi is one of four "finished" watercolors that are available before inviting the customers. It is bought by the collector Bicknell, who had acquired a pre-impressionist oil on canvas of the Giudecca in the previous year.
The Blue Rigi was sold for £ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on June 5, 2006, lot 53. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
To serve as a pendant, Bicknell had ordered one of the eleven works remaining to be produced, a view of the Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen which will be sold for £ 2.05M including premium by Sotheby's on July 4, 2018. The choice of this collector was excellent : his oil on canvas from Venice referred above was sold for $ 36M including premium by Christie's on April 6, 2006.
Turner persists in his unprecedented style. A pre-impressionist oil on canvas painted in 1845 showing the seaside at Folkestone was sold for £ 7.4M including premium by Sotheby's on July 5, 1984, the highest price recorded at auction at that time for any work of art.
1842 Sharing the Watercolors
2018 SOLD for £ 2.05M including premium
Back from his tourism trip in Switzerland in 1841, Turner decided to offer large watercolors that would be unique works as an alternative to oils on canvas. In four years he will realize 25 "finished" landscapes.
In the spring of 1842 his commercial agent Thomas Griffith organized in London the sale of ten artworks of which only four were completed at that time. The artist has made sketches for a total of fifteen views that will allow customers to appreciate in advance the effect of the final work.
Griffith selects four clients for this operation. Three of them are great collectors of modern art. The very young John Ruskin whose reputation as an art critic is already established is the fourth. He will later rightly recognize that this series of watercolors is the best of Turner in his entire career in that technique.
The most ancient collector does not accept the invitation. The most motivated is Munro of Novar who in 1836 had the rare honor of being accepted as Turner's traveling companion. He leaves with three finished watercolors and buys two of the future works. Ruskin also chooses two future works.
The other customer is the shipowner Bicknell who had bought in 1841 the view of the Giudecca. This oil on canvas 61 x 92 cm is a masterpiece from the pictures of Venice by Turner. It was sold for $ 36M including premium by Christie's on April 6, 2006.
In the sharing of the Swiss views, Bicknell takes the Blue Rigi, one of the four immediately available watercolors 30 x 45 cm. This picture of the mountain against the light at dawn is a masterpiece of pre-impressionist art with the clarity and luminosity of a watercolor on paper. It was sold for £ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on June 5, 2006.
To have a pendant view to his Rigi from the watercolors still to be achieved, Bicknell chooses a view of the Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen. It is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 4, lot 209.
After supplying the view of the lake to Bicknell, Turner gives its preparatory watercolor to Griffith. The sketches were not intended for trade. Turner will retain all the others that will be part of his legacy to Tate Britain. This smaller watercolor from Lake Lucerne 25 x 31 cm was sold for $ 1.1M including premium by Christie's on January 30, 2018.
In the spring of 1842 his commercial agent Thomas Griffith organized in London the sale of ten artworks of which only four were completed at that time. The artist has made sketches for a total of fifteen views that will allow customers to appreciate in advance the effect of the final work.
Griffith selects four clients for this operation. Three of them are great collectors of modern art. The very young John Ruskin whose reputation as an art critic is already established is the fourth. He will later rightly recognize that this series of watercolors is the best of Turner in his entire career in that technique.
The most ancient collector does not accept the invitation. The most motivated is Munro of Novar who in 1836 had the rare honor of being accepted as Turner's traveling companion. He leaves with three finished watercolors and buys two of the future works. Ruskin also chooses two future works.
The other customer is the shipowner Bicknell who had bought in 1841 the view of the Giudecca. This oil on canvas 61 x 92 cm is a masterpiece from the pictures of Venice by Turner. It was sold for $ 36M including premium by Christie's on April 6, 2006.
In the sharing of the Swiss views, Bicknell takes the Blue Rigi, one of the four immediately available watercolors 30 x 45 cm. This picture of the mountain against the light at dawn is a masterpiece of pre-impressionist art with the clarity and luminosity of a watercolor on paper. It was sold for £ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on June 5, 2006.
To have a pendant view to his Rigi from the watercolors still to be achieved, Bicknell chooses a view of the Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen. It is estimated £ 1.2M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 4, lot 209.
After supplying the view of the lake to Bicknell, Turner gives its preparatory watercolor to Griffith. The sketches were not intended for trade. Turner will retain all the others that will be part of his legacy to Tate Britain. This smaller watercolor from Lake Lucerne 25 x 31 cm was sold for $ 1.1M including premium by Christie's on January 30, 2018.
#Rubens, #Turner, #VanDyck - our flagship #OldMaster sale on 4 July will offer masterpieces by some of the biggest names in art history. https://t.co/dQdCHbFIkb pic.twitter.com/Rv7rYxdYnX
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) June 14, 2018
1842 Turner in Lucerne
2018 SOLD for $ 1.1M including premium
Turner travels a lot, sketching the figures of the landscapes in his notebooks. He wishes to express the sublime while respecting sufficiently the topographic balance so that the location is immediately recognizable. He adds the atmosphere by the colors of the extreme hours of the day highlighted by the lightness and spontaneity of the watercolor.
The mountains appeal this idealist by their paradox between the aesthetic beauty of a calm day and the unstoppable power of its storms. From 1841 to 1844 he travels Switzerland in four successive trips. Murray's travel handbook does not leave his pocket : the legends created by the interaction between men and mountains nourish the creativity of the artist.
During the first of these four trips, Turner radically changed his business strategy. Previously he aimed at editing his images by printers. He now considers that watercolor can become a high quality product, providing the customer with an illusion of presence that exceeds that of oil painting.
On his first return to his workshop in 1842, Turner combined his sketches to make watercolors in mid format. He had not gone far from Lucerne and this new series of fifteen images is composed of views of the lake and of the Righi (Rigi) mountain. Passing off the initial reluctance of his seller Thomas Griffith, he prepares the large format watercolors that will be proposed as finished products, one per image. The large format allows him to add with his subtle touch and fine line the details that animate the scenery.
In this series the three views of the Rigi, blue and dark at dawn and red at sunset, anticipate by several decades the studies by Monet and Cézanne on the color variations. The 30 x 45 cm watercolor of the Blue Rigi was sold for £ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on June 5, 2006.
Almost all the mid sized watercolors from this first trip were bequeathed by Turner to Tate Britain. One of them, a view of the lake from Brunnen 25 x 31 cm, escaped that legacy : Turner had presented it to Griffith shortly after the completion of its large format. It is estimated $ 800K for sale by Christie's in New York on January 30, lot 84.
A large format of this view was used as a pendant with the Blue Rigi by its first owner, a whaling tycoon who appreciated this contrast between the quiet atmosphere of the lake and the brutal force of the rock.
The mountains appeal this idealist by their paradox between the aesthetic beauty of a calm day and the unstoppable power of its storms. From 1841 to 1844 he travels Switzerland in four successive trips. Murray's travel handbook does not leave his pocket : the legends created by the interaction between men and mountains nourish the creativity of the artist.
During the first of these four trips, Turner radically changed his business strategy. Previously he aimed at editing his images by printers. He now considers that watercolor can become a high quality product, providing the customer with an illusion of presence that exceeds that of oil painting.
On his first return to his workshop in 1842, Turner combined his sketches to make watercolors in mid format. He had not gone far from Lucerne and this new series of fifteen images is composed of views of the lake and of the Righi (Rigi) mountain. Passing off the initial reluctance of his seller Thomas Griffith, he prepares the large format watercolors that will be proposed as finished products, one per image. The large format allows him to add with his subtle touch and fine line the details that animate the scenery.
In this series the three views of the Rigi, blue and dark at dawn and red at sunset, anticipate by several decades the studies by Monet and Cézanne on the color variations. The 30 x 45 cm watercolor of the Blue Rigi was sold for £ 5.8M including premium by Christie's on June 5, 2006.
Almost all the mid sized watercolors from this first trip were bequeathed by Turner to Tate Britain. One of them, a view of the lake from Brunnen 25 x 31 cm, escaped that legacy : Turner had presented it to Griffith shortly after the completion of its large format. It is estimated $ 800K for sale by Christie's in New York on January 30, lot 84.
A large format of this view was used as a pendant with the Blue Rigi by its first owner, a whaling tycoon who appreciated this contrast between the quiet atmosphere of the lake and the brutal force of the rock.
mid 1840s The Light of England
2019 SOLD for £ 8.2M including premium
Light is the main theme of Turner's art throughout his career. He successively mastered watercolor and oil and became an illustrator for spreading his vision to a wider audience. Light does not exist without the landscape and the sea. The early inspirers of Turner are poets who sang the beauty of nature such as James Thomson or Lord Byron.
He admires the Liber Veritatis of Le Lorrain. A series of 71 images engraved between 1807 and 1819 under the title Liber Studiorum brings together Turner's landscape studies that can indeed be used by clients to commission "finished works".
Time passes. Turner is famous despite his eccentric temperament. His artistic creativity remains intact. He is aware that his art is unprecedented and decides to bequeath hundreds of pieces to the British nation. Eager for a posthumous recognition, he nevertheless flees his lifetime celebrity, spending his last years in Chelsea under the name of Mr Booth which was the surname of his companion Sophia.
In his later works the landscapes are literally wrapped in light, with a gradual vanishing of figurative details. He retrieves his dear old themes of the Liber Studiorum, which he reissues in 1845 in fifteen additional copies printed from the original plates under the influence of Ruskin.
The corpus of these late paintings made by Turner in direct relationship with the Liber includes nine large size artworks. Only one is still in private hands. This oil on canvas 88 x 118 cm is estimated £ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 3, lot 11.
This painting is inspired by an image of the Liber titled The Bridge in the Middle Distance. A confusion with the views of Italy, perhaps due to the light of the Venice views painted after his 1840 trip, has long masked the topographical theme of this image, the double Walton Bridge on the Thames, one of his favorite sites. The landscapes of J.M.W. Turner are universal.
He admires the Liber Veritatis of Le Lorrain. A series of 71 images engraved between 1807 and 1819 under the title Liber Studiorum brings together Turner's landscape studies that can indeed be used by clients to commission "finished works".
Time passes. Turner is famous despite his eccentric temperament. His artistic creativity remains intact. He is aware that his art is unprecedented and decides to bequeath hundreds of pieces to the British nation. Eager for a posthumous recognition, he nevertheless flees his lifetime celebrity, spending his last years in Chelsea under the name of Mr Booth which was the surname of his companion Sophia.
In his later works the landscapes are literally wrapped in light, with a gradual vanishing of figurative details. He retrieves his dear old themes of the Liber Studiorum, which he reissues in 1845 in fifteen additional copies printed from the original plates under the influence of Ruskin.
The corpus of these late paintings made by Turner in direct relationship with the Liber includes nine large size artworks. Only one is still in private hands. This oil on canvas 88 x 118 cm is estimated £ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 3, lot 11.
This painting is inspired by an image of the Liber titled The Bridge in the Middle Distance. A confusion with the views of Italy, perhaps due to the light of the Venice views painted after his 1840 trip, has long masked the topographical theme of this image, the double Walton Bridge on the Thames, one of his favorite sites. The landscapes of J.M.W. Turner are universal.
#AuctionUpdate Water under the Bridge: Coming to the market for the first time in over 35 years, #Turner’s idealised, Italianate landscape, inspired by Walton Bridge in Surrey, totals £8,171,000. #SothebysOldMasters pic.twitter.com/BjEPIdwcvH
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 3, 2019
