I personally find Impressionism to be thought-provoking and more emotionally connecting than art from previous periods. Many pieces from this era are in the style of not having defined lines or subjects. These artists were more focused on the colours and feelings than lines and contours. I feel that these characteristics of Impressionist art makes it easier to connect with emotionally, and also part of the reason that so many people are familiar with pieces from this era of art.
J.M.W. Turner – “Rain, Steam and Speed” 1844
J.M.W. Turner – “The Slave Ship” 1840
These two pieces by J. M. W. Turner show his “imagination were to be found in the subjects of shipwrecks, fires (such as the Burning of Parliament in 1834, an event which Turner rushed to witness first-hand, and which he transcribed in a series of watercolour sketches), natural catastrophes, and natural phenomena such as sunlight, storm, rain, and fog. He was fascinated by the violent power of the sea, as seen in Dawn after the Wreck (1840) and The Slave Ship (1840)” (1). Turner’s fascination with things of nature was reflected emotionally through his oil paintings. In Rain, Steam, and Speed”, the rain seems to be coming out of a cloud of fog, and where the train begins and ends is indistinct, as it blends with its surroundings. It’s hard to see where anything begins in ends: where is the sky, and where is the ground? Where is the rest of the train? It makes the viewer think and imagine what else could be going on in the painting. “The Slave Ship” was painted to show the harshness of the sea, and in the foreground, indistinct, grotesque shapes of human corpses float in the water. This painting also shows the reality of diseases spreading on ships back then. Those affected had to be thrown over board as so to not get the rest of the crew fatally sick (2).
Jan Brueghel the Elder “A Woodland Road with Travelers” 1607
Jan Brueghel the Elder “The View of Heidelberg” 1588-89
These two works by Jan Brueghel the Elder, the son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, were done during the Baroque era of art. He was very talented in painting flora and fauna, and “when flowering plants had run their course around August, landscape season began. Called “Velvet Brueghel” for his skill at painting rich and delicate textures, Brueghel was the second generation in a dynasty of Flemish painters. Born in Brussels and trained by his grandmother, Brueghel was celebrated in his own time, becoming dean of the Antwerp painters’ guild by 1602″ (3).
These two paintings by Brueghel are of landscape or scene, and already one can see the difference between Jan Brueghel the Elder and J. M. W. Turner. In Brueghel’s paintings, the humans in his work are distinguishable from their surroundings. The trees have a very detailed texture, and it’s easy to understand what is happening in the first painting; in the second painting, the clouds in the sky do not have defined lines, but the castle and other structural objects (as well as the land) have defined lines and boundaries. To me, Brueghel’s paints feel like stated facts: this is what it is, and there’s not much else to interpret from the work. In Turner’s paintings, it’s not so easy to see what is going on, and his works do not feel like stated facts. To me, his paintings are about perceptions, and hidden truths among the blended colours and subject matters.
1. “Joseph Mallord William Turner Biography.” William Turner. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://www.william-turner.org/biography.html>.
2. Landow, George P. “J. M. W.Turner’s Slave Ship.” Images of Crisis. 15 July 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://www.victorianweb.org/art/crisis/crisis4e.html>.
3. “Jan Brueghel the Elder.” The J. Paul Getty Museum. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/686/jan-brueghel-the-elder-flemish-1568-1625/>.
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