William Turner

William Turner is an English painter born in London on April 23, 1775 and died in Chelsea on December 19, 1851. Coming from a very modest background, he befriended Thomas Girtin very early on and painted watercolors like him. In 1789 he entered the Royal Academy and the following year exhibited a View of the Archbishop of Lambeth's Palace. His works did not take long to earn him a good reputation and he became a full member of the Academy in 1802. First influenced by Richard Wilson, Turner then came under the influence of the Dutch Guillaume Van de Velde, Cuyp, then that of Poussin and particularly Claude Lorrain, whose influence left a visible trace in his paintings. His travels in Scotland, France, Switzerland, broaden his horizon. In 1807, he was appointed professor of perspective at the Royal Academy, but remained there only a few years. The following year, he published a collection of his drawings under the name Liber Studiorum. Apart from his large compositions, Turner made a lot of illustrations for the luxury editions of Walter Scott, Samuel Rogers, Byron, Thomas Moore. All these subjects are painted with watercolors and made of colored and luminous shadows At the end of his life, the artist indulges more in his fantasy, his paintings resemble luminous visions through the fog, arcs- in the sky, with fireworks, yellow and red opposing white backgrounds. The singularity of his latest works meets an enthusiastic audience, but despite his success, he does not wish to enjoy his fortune and seeks solitude: he leaves his house on Queen Anne Street, and cuts off all connection with the world, even changing his name. and retiring to poor Chelsea accommodation where he died alone and unknown. The National Gallery in London contains 412 of his paintings, including most of his best-known works: Jason, The Forge, Apollo and Python, The Shipwreck, Dido and Aeneas, The Fall of Carthage, The Bay of Baïa, Ulysses and Polyphemus, The Crossing of the Alps by Annibal, The Entrance to the port of Calais.