Curator Ian Worrell describes viewing JMW Turner’s art as getting a glimpse from his perspective. It’s intriguing how he managed to create some of the most remarkable land and sea scenes in history.
The exhibition, featuring rarely seen watercolors, is now open in Bath. It includes works from the western part of England, highlighting ocean sketches Turner produced when he was just a teenager, as well as pieces he crafted later while observing storms from the Kent coast.
The show, titled Watercolor Impression, provides insight into Turner’s techniques, underscoring his role as a connection between early landscape artistry and the essential abstractions of the 20th century.
The collection features 32 of Turner’s watercolors, displayed at the Holburne Museum since May 23. The earliest piece dates back to the early 1790s when Turner was only 16 or 17 years old.
One painting captures a view of Bath from nearby hills, presenting a much more dramatic scene compared to the actual gentle landscapes around the city. Another view depicts the Romantic Ruins of Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire.
Both works reveal Turner’s fascination with the “Theory of Sublime,” an idea that would later manifest in his stormy sea and mountain scenes. Worrell notes that while these pieces were traditional for their time, they also reflect Turner’s ambition.
A highlight of the exhibition is a series of seascapes created when Turner was more established as an artist in Margate, Kent. Worrell mentions that Turner had childhood memories of Margate, and the polluted air of London prompted his family to send him to school there from the 1820s onwards.
While staying there, Turner would gaze at the beach from his room, observing the sunrises and sunsets along with various activities on the water. He once remarked that the skies of Margate were unmatched in Europe, even better than those over the Bay of Naples.
Worrell explains that Turner often engaged in experimentation. Some of these watercolors likely took him under 30 minutes to complete and serve as simple meditations on the scenery.
In contrast to his grand pieces like the Fighting Temeraire, which draw massive crowds, these watercolors are seldom displayed and mainly belong to private collections.
The artworks are referred to as the “missing link” connecting Turner’s more traditional imagery and his later abstract compositions. They illustrate his ongoing evolution, showcasing both the steamship and a crescent moon sketched in Margate around 1845, some years after he had drawn the Fighting Temeraire while incorporating smoke and fiery tones.
Worrell elaborates that while creating, Turner practiced and honed his skills, experimenting with ideas for future works. His palette was bold, and while not always varied, his use of yellow and blue stood out distinctly.
The exhibition also includes works from artists like Thomas Guiltin, who was born 250 years ago in 1775, and John Sell Cotman.
The exhibition will run from May 23 to September 14.
