“The Fighting Temeraire”
For today, the wonderfully atmospheric art of J.M.W. Turner.
“The Fighting Temeraire”, or in its long form, “The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up, 1838” is an oil on canvas painting made by the English Romantic artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner, or J. M. W. Turner, from 1839. In 2005, it was voted the “greatest painting in Britain” according to a BBC poll.
The HMS Temeraire was a 98-gun ship with three-gun decks that was one of the ships of the line. This meant that it was specifically designed to line up in formations during naval battle.
The HMS Temeraire played an important role during the third Napoleonic War in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This battle gave the British Navy a decisive win over the French and Spanish. On October 21, the Temeraire came to the rescue of the HMS Victory, the famed ship of Captain Horatio Nelson, when it had been blocked by the French. The Temeraire had close combat with two French ships, essentially destroying the other ships, though its own sails and yard were destroyed in the process. Together, the two ships helped to win the battle.
In this painting, Turner is capturing the moment in 1838 when it was towed along the river Thames to southeast London to be taken apart and salvaged for scraps. Turner witnessed its final towing and made some small sketches of it from which this painting is based. He did use some artistic license in the final product, such as omitting the second tugboat that helped tow the ship and adding the masts and rigging which had already been removed.
As always, Turner’s lighting of the sunlight, reflection on the water, and mist in the air is impeccable. This painting was first shown at the Royal Academy in 1839 and received wide critical praise. To accompany the painting, Tuner also included an excerpt from the poem, “Ye Mariners of England” by the Scottish poet, Thomas Campbell, which read “The flag which braved the battle and the breeze, no longer owns her.”
“The Fighting Temeraire” is currently in the collections of the National Gallery in London, England.
For more on J. M. W. Turner, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
