Turner

§ September 23rd, 2008 § Filed under Assignments, Turner

This past Wednesday I along with several classmates visited the MET to see J.M. W. Turner’s works.  Personally, I do not posses a great appreciation for paintings. Regardless, here were my impressions on the paintings I observed. Firstly, “The Shipwreck” portrayed the strength of the sea against man. I particularly enjoyed how Turner used shading to set an overcast type background, and how he used white blotches to represent the crashing waves.  “Norham Castle Sunrise” wasn’t anything speacial in my opinion.  However, the cows on the water kept grabbing my attention…I’m not sure why.  “Sunrise with Seamonsters” was one of my favorites of the day.  Athough it was an unfinished painting I liked how the obscurity of the picture as a whole magnified the subtleness of the seamonster’s face. “Snow Storm” had a similar feel to “The Shipwreck” as well as “Disaster at Sea” in that it portayed Mother Nature’s power over man. “The Burning of the House of Lords and Commons” once again reiterated Turner’s feelings about the force of nature over man. I would just like to say that in this painting I liked how Turner used lighter colors. In “The Battle of Trafalgar” besides for Turner displaying destruction again I liked how he offset it with the majesty of that central ship.  I had a similar feel when i saw “The Field of Waterloo.”  Here Turner once again portrtays a beaten group of people however, he paints a lone ray of sun shining through the cloud of smoke and ash; possibly symbolizing hope.  Lastly, I enjoyed “Morttlake Terrace” moreso than the other’s because it portrayed a much more serene image.  The details were very fine and I thought it was a nice change of pace to see this painting after all his other more somber works.

~~~Morris Dabbah