on tour The Painter of the Sea 16
DOUGAL
ALL AT SEA DECEMBER 2021
Solent based dinghy sailor David Henshall is a well known writer and speaker on topics covering the rich heritage of all aspects of leisure boating.
JWM Turner is not only one of our greatest painters, but is the creator of some of our best-loved seascapes.
The famous portrait of J M W Turner as a young man. Image: Janusz Pienkowski / Shutterstock
T
he South Coast and the Solent of the 1820s were very different places to today. The near constant threat of an attack by the French had seen the area heavily militarised and defended, but with the overwhelming victory at Trafalgar just two decades earlier and then the final and decisive vanquishing of Napoleon at Waterloo, at long last the area started to be the focal point for more peaceful activities, such as the growing pastime of yachting. This was still very much an elite sport, with the criteria for membership at the yacht club at Cowes being for a gentleman owning a vessel of more than 10 tons. Then, in 1820, the Prince Regent became King George IV, with his patronage allowing the elevated name change to ‘Royal Yacht Club’ (it became the Squadron in 1833) and in 1826, with organised yacht racing now established, the club would be laying down the rules that we still use today, such as starboard tack holding right of way over port tack.
Art of sailing
With the fleet full of both royalty and the leading personages of the day, the summer races were a draw for huge
Rotterdam Ferry-Boat, by JWM William Turner, 1833. Image: Everett Collection / Shutterstock
crowds, with reports on events appearing in the growing number of newspapers that were feeding the near insatiable demand for popular information. However, the one thing that was missing was any form of pictorial representation of the action. There were, of course, pictures of boats afloat, with the Dutch being the masters of this form of painting. The paintings were invariably quite stylised, dark and brooding, under heavy skies, with commercial craft or warships heeling before a stiff breeze that had kicked up an impossibly short sea state. They might well be dramatic and full of artistic significance, but as a record of sailing, they did little to inform the public of what it was really like. The other problem was that even if a more realistic painting had been made, this was before the time of public galleries. Instead, anything that today would be considered as ‘fine art’ would be in the hands of the rich patrons who commissioned the paintings for their luxurious houses. There was almost nothing at this point in the way of art for the growing population of working people, but this was a population that was being liberated by easier travel and better education. The time was ripe for someone to step into the growing void and become not only a painter for the people, but one who had a lifelong love of the water.
Early promise
Joseph Mallord William Turner - JMW Turner - was born in London’s Covent Garden in 1775 to parents who were just about middle class, for his father was a barber and wig maker whilst his mother came from a family of butchers. From an early age the young Turner showed artistic promise, with pictures and drawings sold from his father’s shop. With some pride, the elder Turner proudly proclaimed that “my son is going to be a painter”. Such were his skills that by the age of 14 Turner was enrolled into the Royal Academy where, despite an interest in architecture, he was advised to focus on his painting. Turner also enjoyed travel, though he
Often referred to as the nation’s favourite painting, Turner used a good deal of artistic licence when he painted the old warhorse from Trafalgar being towed to the breakers yard by a steam tug. This is far more than just a stunning painting, but it is also allegorical for the changes that were sweeping through the country at the time. Image: National Gallery
“The time was ripe for someone to step into the growing void and become not only a painter for the people, but one who had a lifelong love of the water.” was rarely without his sketch books, as his questing eye took in all the sights of weather, light and everyday activity. As well as looking to it for inspiration, Turner loved the water, probably after he had been sent to stay with various relatives at Margate and on the Thames as his mother battled increasingly serious bouts of mental ill health. Turner’s big breakthrough came in 1796 when, as a mere 21-year-old, his first major
work in oils was displayed at the Royal Academy. The work, titled ‘Fishermen at Sea’ is a wonderful study of two fishing boats working in the western Solent on a moonlit night, with the Needles as a backdrop. Even allowing for artistic licence, from the angle of the background the scene would be set somewhere between Hurst Castle and the Shingles sand bank, so the tumultuous sea state is perfectly realistic in this instance.
Not without criticism
This one painting did much to help cement his reputation, not only as an artist of note, but as a man who could match the Dutch masters in the depiction of a sea scene. Even so, Turner’s work was not without its critics, a situation that was not helped by his use of paints that had a relatively short life once on the canvas. Comments that the colours in his
