ID number: BIRBI-38.1 Institution: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts Artist / Maker: Turner, Joseph Mallord William (1775-1851) Title / Object name: The sun setting through vapour Object type: Painting
Place made: London Culture: British Date made: about 1809 Materials: Oil on canvas Measurements: 69.2 x 101.6 cm Provenance: From the collection of Ayscough Fawkes, Farnley Hall, Yorkshire; sold at Christie's, 27 June 1890 (lot 62); bought by Thomas McLean for 1000 guineas; Mrs Johnstone Foster; Christie's, 23 July 1937 (lot 142); Messrs Ernest Broen and Phillips, Leicester Square Galleries, London, 1938 for £1,350
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The sun disperses the clouds and infuses sand and sea with a golden glow. Fishermen unload their catch which is then displayed on the beach for sale. Behind, a number of ships including a first-rate man-of-war and a dismasted hulk (a prison) stand at anchor, a reminder that Britain was at war with France in 1809.
Turner painted numerous marine subjects early in his career. As here, he sought to make his reputation by matching the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century.
Inscriptions / Translations: Signed I.r.: J.M.W. Turner R A
Notes: Exhibited: 'Turner', Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany, 15 September 1972 - 06 November 1972; 'Birth of a Collection: Masterpieces from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts', National Gallery, London, UK, 22 May 2013 - 01 September 2013; 'Turner and the Art of the Sea', National Maritime Museum, London, UK, 21 November 2013 - 21 April 2014
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