Snow Storm, c. 1860
The English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner not only represents the pinnacle of Romantic landscape painting, he is also the most original painter of his time. In his dissolution of traditional pictorial structures, he points ahead to the modern age and earns a reputation as a „painter of light“. He developesgenerous overall compositions with increasing dematerialisation of the representational in order to achieve a „knowledge of the world“ through painting.
Turner claims in autobiographical notes that he had himself tied to the mast of the ship depicted in the painting and experienced – as well as survived – the natural spectacle for four hours in the storm. Even at that time, there are discussions about whether this story was true. The art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) describes Snow Storm as „one of the very grandest statements of sea-motion, mist, and light, that has ever been put on canvas.“ The outlines of the technical age can be seen in the work. Turner is personally acquainted with the physicist and chemist Michael Faraday (1791-1867), and appreciates his investigation of the interrelationship of matter, energy and force. Through this inspiration, he succeedes in filling his landscapes with energetic forms.
Even during his lifetime, Turner‘s works meet with great interest. Since the 18th century, copperplate en- gravings and etchings are a popular medium for the reproduction and dissemination of paintings. This particularly high-quality engraving by Robert Brandard (1805-1862) is one of a twelve-part series of prints after Turner‘s originals.