Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus (by MrsHappyHousewife)
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1829
Oil on Canvas
From the National Gallery:
“Ulysses is standing aloft on his ship deriding the Cyclops, whom he and his companions have just left blinded, and invoking the vengeance of Neptune. One of the flags is painted with the scene of the Trojan Horse. The horses of the Sun are rising above the horizon (‘Odyssey’, Book 9).
Apparently the idea was in Turner’s mind as early as about 1807, if this is the correct date of a sketchbook which contains a rough drawing of the subject. The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1829.”
Turner, J.M.W. (1775-1851) - 1796 Fishermen at Sea (Tate Gallery, London) (by RasMarley)
Fishing Boats with Hucksters Bargaining for Fish (1837/38) - Joseph Mallord William Turner
Oil on canvas
68 3/4 x 88 1/2in. (174.5 x 224.9 cm)
Art Institute of Chicago
Valley of Aosta: Snowstorm, Avalanche, and Thunderstorm (1836/37) - Joseph Mallord William Turner
Oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 48 in. (92.2 x 123 cm)
Art Institute of Chicago
Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great WesternRailway (by MrsHappyHousewife)
Oil on canvas
“The scene is fairly certainly identifiable as Maidenhead railway bridge, across the Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead. The bridge, which was begun on Brunel’s design in 1837 and finished in 1839, has two main arches of brick, very wide and flat. The view is to the east, towards London.”
Turner, J.M.W. (1775-1851) - 1813 Frosty Morning (Tate Gallery, London) (by RasMarley)
Oil on canvas; 114 x 175 cm.
“Joseph Mallord William Turner’s father, a barber and wigmaker, realized his son’s artistic talents early, asserting that “my son is going to be a painter.” Before enrolling in the Royal Academy, Turner gained some drawing experience in the offices several of London’s leading architects. He first exhibited watercolors of architectural subjects and then experimented with scenes from literature and scenery designs for operatic productions. In his early twenties Turner’s focus changed to historical landscapes. These large-scale paintings became increasingly divorced from nature and featured the loose, luminous brushwork and abstract conceptions for which he became known.At twenty-nine Turner opened his own gallery in London while also painting, exhibiting his own work, and teaching at the Royal Academy. A trip to Italy at the age of forty-four drastically altered his style, leading to his late emphasis on the power of color and light to create dramatic, evocative scenes. Turner’s body of work includes around three hundred paintings and over twenty thousand drawings and watercolors, the majority of which were given to the English government upon his death. Most are now owned by the Tate Gallery in London.”
