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As his work matured, it became almost impressionistic
in style, as he focused less on the details and more on the overall atmospheric
effect. He became a master at rendering pure light by the use of shimmering
colours. An example of this is the Great Western Railway painting where
the train is barely recognisable. As far as Turner was concerned, his
study of light was becoming paramount and he did not want objects in the
painting to distract from this focus, preferring instead to concentrate
on the play of light on clouds, water, skies and fires. His technique
was being studied carefully by the Impressionists in France, in particular
by Claude Monet. However, not everyone was pleased with his later work,
one American buyer was said to be disappointed with the 'indistinctness'
of his later paintings.
Other important works by Turner include
Staffa, Fingal's Cave, 1832 (Yale Center for British Art, New Haven),
Norham Castle, Sunrise, c.1835 (Clore Gallery), Interior at Petworth,
c.1837 (Tate Gallery, London), Moonlight, watercolour, 1840 (Tate), Sun
Setting over a Lake, 1840 (Tate) and Landscape with Distant River and
Bay, 1840 (Musee du Louvre, Paris).
As he became older, he turned eccentric,
and except for his father, who lived with him for 30 years, he had no
close friends. He gave up meetings at the Royal Academy, and would not
let anyone watch him paint. He still held exhibitions but refused to sell
any of the paintings. When he was convinced to sell one, he was depressed
for days afterwards. His last exhibition was in 1850 at the Academy, after
which he went missing from his house. His housekeeper searched for him
for months, finally finding him at his mistress's house in Chelsea. He
had been ill for some time, and died the following day in December 1851.
He was 76 years old. As he took his last breath, he uttered the words
'the Sun is God'. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral and lies next to
Sir Joshua Reynolds.
The influential art critic, John Ruskin later described Turner as the
only artist who could 'most stirringly and truthfully measure the moods
of Nature'. Turner is considered one of England's greatest artists, and
is just as popular in the 21st century as he was in his own time. In 1984
the Tate Gallery launched a new Art Award, caller the Turner Prize, which
has helped to launch the careers of now prominent artists like Tracy Emin,
Damien Hirst and photographer/sculptor Steve McQueen. A major exhibition
entitled 'Turner's Britain' was held at the Birmingham Museum & Art
Gallery in 2003 and Turners painting the 'Fighting Temeraire' was voted
Britain's 'Greatest Painting' by a BBC public poll in 2005.
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