For me, there could be no list of great artworks without a Turner painting. The only difficulty is choosing the particular one to add to the list. He has so many great paintings.
'Venice, Grand Canal, from the Porch of Madonna della Salute'
Joseph Mallord William Turner,
Oil on Canvas, 1835.
Oil on Canvas, 1835.
Turner travelled around Great Britain and Europe searching for inspiration for his work. Many of his subjects are of grand vista's, mountains and valleys, wild seas and endless skies. And he found a great store of magnificent visual stimuli in his visits to Venice, in many ways a perfect subject for an artist who was so interested in light, in wide skies and in glistening water.
He produced a number of great masterpieces in Venice and this could be the most famous. It shows the buildings and the boats of the grand canal, and was based on sketches that he did in the city.
The obvious ability that he has to capture the effects of light and atmosphere, and his great genius as a colourist, leads many to believe that he not only pre-dated and but directly influenced the Impressionists, who are still possibly the most popular painting movement ever.
Monet and Pissarro certainly saw his work when they stayed in London during the Franco-Prussian war period. Of course, for my money, he remains the greater of these artists, but then possibly I'm biased?
Here are some comments from elsewhere....
And here are a couple of his other paintings of Venice. . . ,
'Approach to Venice'
Joseph Mallord William Turner,
Oil on Canvas, 1844.
Oil on Canvas, 1844.
'Bridge of Sighs, Ducal Palace and Custom House, Venice'
Joseph Mallord William Turner,
Oil on Canvas, 1835.
Oil on Canvas, 1835.
One question always crops up in my mind when looking at these pictures. How much was the final look of the painting dependent upon his method of work?
For example, I remember it is recorded that often, when he was journeying through the Alps, and presumably other areas, he would use a smallish sketchbook (to make pencil and colour indications), onsite, during the day, and he would also buy some local postcards to use for further source material for when he produced his paintings in the evening in his travel lodgings, (or even back in his own studio).
Possibly this approach gave him an amount of flexibility in the selection of his colour palette, and also in the modification of his compositions and atmosphere, and which would free him to achieve those light and textural effects that are so characteristic of his work, and which were so groundbreaking?
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details...........,” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
'Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni'.
by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1488, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details........,”quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
"The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back."
Norman Rockwell
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Music
Click here to find a few songs on YouTube, and I'll add more as time goes by.
Music
Beyond painting, my other preoccupation is music - particularly songwriting.
I've recently started, just for fun, linking the two preoccupations together, by featuring a few paintings along with one of my recorded songs. If you have a spare minute, you're welcome to take a look. . .
These songs can also be found on (and downloaded from) iTunes, Spotify, CDBaby, and many other platforms, - (my intention is to upload a different song each month)
Also in the last period I've been recording some songs with some friends - have a listen here if you have the time.
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'Explaining Postmodernism:
Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault'
Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault'
By Stephen R.C.Hicks
Published by Ockham's Razor Publishing
If you are in anyway pondering the latest developments in large areas of modern discourse and culture (safe spaces, no-platforming, identity politics, postmodern art, feelings superseding facts, attacks on free speech, intersectionality, etc) then this book will clarify things somewhat.
By the end of Explaining Postmodernism, the reader may remain ill at ease with postmodernist malaise, but Hicks lucid account will demystify the subject. * Curtis Hancock, Ph.D., Review of Metaphysics --Review of Metaphysics
With clarity, concision, and an engaging style, Hicks exposes the historical roots and philosophical assumptions of the postmodernist phenomenon. More than that, he raises key questions about the legacy of postmodernism and its implications for our intellectual attitudes and cultural life. * Steven M. Sanders, Ph.D., Reason Papers --Reason PapersRefreshingly, Hicks does not take it as given that the poststructuralist viewpoints have been demonstrated to be in error. Rather, he seeks to trace them to a powerful ressentiment directed against the partisan of the Enlightenment and of capitalist achievement, and to provide the Enlightenment thinker with openings for serious intellectual engagement. * Marcus Verhaegh, Ph.D., The Independent Review --The Independent Review
With clarity, concision, and an engaging style, Hicks exposes the historical roots and philosophical assumptions of the postmodernist phenomenon. More than that, he raises key questions about the legacy of postmodernism and its implications for our intellectual attitudes and cultural life. * Steven M. Sanders, Ph.D., Reason Papers --Reason PapersRefreshingly, Hicks does not take it as given that the poststructuralist viewpoints have been demonstrated to be in error. Rather, he seeks to trace them to a powerful ressentiment directed against the partisan of the Enlightenment and of capitalist achievement, and to provide the Enlightenment thinker with openings for serious intellectual engagement. * Marcus Verhaegh, Ph.D., The Independent Review --The Independent Review
Review from Amazon.
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