The figure on the left dressed in blue and wearing a diadem is Dido herself, visiting the tomb that is being built for her dead husband, Sychaeus. Image: Joseph Mallord William Turner, 'Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway… According to the artist George Leslie, who as a boy had watched Turner putting the final touches to the painting the day before it went on public exhibition in 1844, the hare, not the train, was meant to represent speed. Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) The National Gallery, London Turner further accentuates this effect by reducing the double rail track across the bridge to a single narrow line. So, wheels were a real problem in early railway illustration. [5][13], Some people interpret this painting as analogous to that of the The Fighting Téméraire, since there seems to be a transition from the past towards the future as the train speeds towards us. Both the boat and the plough are examples of relatively slow, non-mechanised activity. A hazy atmosphere caused by lashing rain over foggy clouds of steam from the speeding train presented an intimidating scenario at the time. Sign up to our emails for updates. You've probably seen it. The exaggeratedly abrupt foreshortening of the viaduct, which our eye follows to the horizon, suggests the speed with which the train bursts into view through the rain. The art historian John Gage observed: ‘the title of the picture makes clear that Turner was painting not a view of the Great Western Railway, but an allegory of the forces of nature.’ These forces of nature include the rain, which falls steadily but not so heavily as to entirely obscure the view or the gleams of sunlight that fall on the woods and fields either side of the bridge. The mist rising from the water, the rain that veils the sky, and the steam from the locomotive are blurred and mixed, unifying the painting's colors. 'Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway' (1844) When Turner was born, the horse was still the fastest means of transportation. Nikolai Buglaj's "Race"ing Sideways is a commentary on the Western convention of: luminous perpective By the 19th century, the type of perspective used in paintings such as J.M.W. Free art print of Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway by Joseph Mallord William Turner. The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1844, though it may have been painted earlier. We are looking east towards London as the train heads to the west. Turner’s Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway. [5] Additionally, Turner used cool tones of crimson lake to illustrate the shadows and, even though the fire in the steam-engine appears to be red, it is most likely painted with cobalt and pea-green. W: 6.5 cm. [5], A hare runs along the track in the bottom right of the painting, possibly symbolizing speed itself. Turner in Romanticism style. The subject of this painting is taken from Book IX of Homer’s Odyssey. [4] Turner seemed to be a generation ahead of other artists, as he was among the few painters at the time to consider industrial advancement as a commendable subject of art. ‘Rain Steam and Speed, The Great Western Railway’ was created by J.M.W. Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway by Joseph Mallord William Turner - 2 images - Art Renewal Center. The thrilling essence of speed was an innovative factor of life, with the power to alter our emotions of nature, while the steam of the locomotive provided a groundbreaking atmospheric scenery. Here he uses the exaggeratedly abrupt foreshortening of the viaduct, which our eye follows to the horizon, to suggest the speed with which the train bursts into view through the rain. This is part of our 'Talks for All' series. 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