Catherine de Duve - The Little Turner: The painter of lights travel journal

The Little Van Gogh

The Little Renoir

The Little Monet

The Little Degas

The Little Klimt

The Little Turner

The Little Bruegel

The Little Van Eyck

The Little Rubens

The Little Czanne

The Little Waterloo

Marie-Antoinette

A History of Belgium for children

Before you start reading, take a sheet of paper and several pencils.
You will need them to do the exercises.

Whenever you see this pencil, it is your turn to play!

In Turners day, around the time he was born, many changes and events would impact life in England and the whole of Europe.

Turner

Travelling was such an adventure! People moved around on horseback, stagecoach and sailing boat.

A stagecoach, caught in a snowstorm in the night.

London, around 1809

Sailing boat

It was the Industrial Revolution in England. Factories and machines were being built. Railway lines and steamboats made their first appearance in the landscape.

Steam engine

The French Revolution began in 1789. The king and queen were decapitated! It was also the beginning of the War of Independence in America and the war between France and England.

Steamboat

Napoleon became French Emperor in 1804 and wanted to conquer the world!

Napoleon

The Turner family lived close to Covent Garden in London. Joseph Mallord William Turner was born on 23rd April 1775. As a child, he loved to draw. His father was a barber and a wigmaker. One day my son will be an artist!, he used to tell his clients. And by 12, the young Turner was already exhibiting and selling his drawings in the family shop.

Turner spent part of his childhood outside London because his mother was slowly but surely going insane. He did not go to school much and so could not write or speak very well.

Who was Turner?

He was short, had a big nose and a hoarse voice. He had terrible fits of rage. Here, he painted himself in a flattering way.

Turner was eccentric and secretive. To this day, we know very little about his private life. He never married but had two daughters. Turner loved living by the Thames and also spent quite a lot of time travelling around England to paint. His favourite hobby? Fishing!

Heron

Find the pike that Turner caught. How about you? Whats your favourite hobby?

When Turner was 14 he decided to become a full-time painter. In order to learn his craft he copied and studied the works of past masters that he discovered at Dr Monros, his mothers doctor. Turner also painted topographical watercolours for an architect. He was very talented!

Topographical watercolours:: In those days there werent any photographs or postcards. In order to get a faithful reproduction of a landscape, people asked artists to paint watercolours which use water based paints on paper. Engravings were then made from these and printed in books as illustrations.

Look at this engraving. It is a copy of a watercolour by Turner. Can you describe the scene? Do you prefer drawing or taking a picture of a place?

Turners entire life was dedicated to his work. He attracted patrons who helped him gain entry to the Royal Academy, the prestigious art school. It was also renowned for exhibitions. Years later he became professor of perspective and a member of the prestigious new institution presided over by the painter Reynolds (1723-1792). Turner also exhibited his watercolours there, and in 1796, for the first time, he showed an oil painting: Fishermen at Sea.

Moonlight

Turner painted the moonlight emphasising light and colour. Look at the painting with care. What time of day is it? Where does the scene take place? How is it lit?

Turner travelled through the English counties and drew the landscape. He was preparing a book. He painted this painting by a river on the Scottish border in 1797. Turner painted the same landscape approximately 50 years later! His style had changed completely. His later paintings are hazy and look unfinished, the light soft. He was nicknamed the painter of light. He did not hesitate to paint with his fingers. In those times no one painted like that!

Compare the two different ways of painting the same landscape. Which do you prefer? Which is the most precise? Find the castle, the sun, the mountains and the cows.