Thomas Gainsborough

E

Constable never travelled outside England. He was slow to de­velop as an artist, and slow to become famous. In all these things he was the very opposite of Turner. If he was Wordsworthian in his attitude to nature, Turner was Byronic. The elements which seem so domesticated in Constable's pictures are at their most extreme and battling in Turner's grandest pictures. The large "Fire at Sea" depicts man's hopeless fight amid storm and disaster. Human beings are literal flotsam in a raging sea. Turner himself actually experienced the "Snowstorm: Steamboat off a Harbour Mouth" in which wind and snow and spray sport with the unfortunate steamboat until it is barely visible except for a straining mast. There is a tremendous exhilarating terror in this moment when all nature's forces are unleashed. Something of the same drama is in "Rain, Steam, and Speed", where the glowing train forces its way over the high viaduct through the driving mist and rain — and here man is winning through, thanks to the newly invented steam engine. But Turner's intense receptivity to nature's moods made him able to capture also moments of utter tranquility. In the "Evening Star" there is nothing but the merging of sea and sky, day and night, as evening slowly sucks the colour from things; and only the diamond point of the single star shines out, caught tremblingly on the dark water. The same poignancy hovers about "The Fighting Temeraire" in which between dusk and day an old ship is tugged to its last berth. The ghostly hulk floats over the calm glassy sea, and the sun sinks like a bonfire in the west, seeming a symbol of the life that is ended, stirring us to a quite irrational sadness for days gone by. Such is Turner's poetry.

10. Select a reproduction of a portrait painting and discuss it according to the following outline:

1. The general effect. (The title and. name of the artist. The period or trend represented. Does it appear natural and spontaneous or contrived and artificial?)

2. The contents of the picture. (Place, time and setting. The age and physical appearance of the sitter. The accessories, the dress and environment. Any attempt to render the personality and emotions of the model. What does the artist accentuate in his subject?)

3. The composition and colouring. (How is the sitter represented? Against what background? Any prevailing format? Is the posture bold or rigid? Do the hands (head, body) look natural and informal? How do the eyes gaze? Does the painter concentrate on the analysis of details? What tints predominate in the colour scheme? Do the colours blend imperceptibly? Are the brushstrokes left visible?)

4. Interpretation and evaluation. (Does it exemplify a high degree of artistic skill? What feelings, moods or ideas does it evoke in the viewer?)

11. Because of their special environment, museums and picture galleries of­fer the kind of conditions that allow a student to experience the intrinsic qualities of the art object. The atmosphere of museums evokes marvel. When our emotions are roused, we are more sensitive; we openly explore, make discoveries , and ultimately are more receptive to the learning experience. Enlarge on the benefits of museums and picture galleries.