Ulysses deriding Polyphemus- Homer's Odyssey : 1829 : Joseph Mallord William Turner

Ulysses deriding Polyphemus- Homer's Odyssey :  1829 : Joseph Mallord William Turner


Ulysses is standing aloft on his ship deriding the Cyclops, whom he and his companions have just left blinded, and invoking the vengeance of Neptune. One of the flags is painted with the scene of the Trojan Horse. The horses of the Sun are rising above the horizon ('Odyssey', Book 9).

The Parting of Hero and Leander : before 1837 : Joseph Mallord William Turner

 The Parting of Hero and Leander : before 1837 : Joseph Mallord William Turner

 The ancient Greek grammarian and poet Musaeus is most famous for his poem on the lovers Hero and Leander. Leander swam the Hellespont to join Hero. When he drowned, she flung herself into the sea.

This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1837. The ancient Greek grammarian and poet Musaeus is most famous for his poem on the lovers Hero and Leander. Leander swam the Hellespont to join Hero. When he drowned, she flung herself into the sea.

The Fighting Temeraire : 1839, Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Fighting Temeraire : 1839, Joseph Mallord William Turner


The 98-gun ship 'Temeraire' played a distinguished role in Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, after which she was known as the 'Fighting Temeraire'. The ship remained in service until 1838 when she was decommissioned and towed from Sheerness to Rotherhithe to be broken up.

The painting was thought to represent the decline of Britain's naval power. The 'Temeraire' is shown travelling east, away from the sunset, even though Rotherhithe is west of Sheerness, but Turner's main concern was to evoke a sense of loss, rather than to give an exact recording of the event. The spectacularly colourful setting of the sun draws a parallel with the passing of the old warship. By contrast the new steam-powered tug is smaller and more prosaic.

Turner was in his sixties when he painted 'The Fighting Temeraire'. It shows his mastery of painting techniques to suggest sea and sky. Paint laid on thickly is used to render the sun's rays striking the clouds. By contrast, the ship's rigging is meticulously painted.

The Evening Star : about 1830 : Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Evening Star : about 1830  : Joseph Mallord William Turner

The title is not Turner's own, but is taken from some lines of Turner's verse scribbled in a sketchbook used in 1829-30. Turner was deeply interested in such transitional moments in nature: the evening star first appears in daylight and is soon supplanted by the stronger light of the moon. Here the pale point of the star is barely discernible in the sky, but is reflected clearly in the sea; in both places the star consists of thickly applied white paint.

In the foreground is a boy with a shrimping net and a small leaping dog. The painting is generally regarded as a study of the effects of light and atmosphere, rather than a finished work.

Sun Rising through Vapour : before 1807: Joseph Mallord William Turner

Sun Rising through Vapour :Pre 1807 : Joseph Mallord William Turner

Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway : 1844, : Joseph Mallord William Turner

Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway  : 1844 : Joseph Mallord William Turner


The scene is fairly certainly identifiable as Maidenhead railway bridge, across the Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead. The bridge, which was begun on Brunel's design in 1837 and finished in 1839, has two main arches of brick, very wide and flat. The view is to the east, towards London.

Margate from the Sea : 1835-40, : Joseph Mallord William Turner

Margate  from the Sea : 1835-40, : Joseph Mallord William Turner

The title is not Turner's own, but Turner knew the coast around Margate in Kent well and often painted it. In his views of Margate, its white cliffs are often prominent, and the suggestion of distant white cliffs here makes the identification of the scene as Margate likely, though not certain.

Turner's main purpose was not to depict a specific place but to explore the nature of the sea under a changing sky. The painting is unfinished.