Who was Joseph Mallord William Turner?
Q: Who was Joseph Mallord William Turner?
A: Joseph Mallord William Turner was an English painter and artist who is considered one of the greatest landscape painters of all time. He had a great mastery of light and colour, and his works often show ideas that were ahead of their time.
Q: Where did he grow up?
A: Turner grew up in Covent Garden, London with his father who was a maker of wigs and his mother who suffered from mental illness. When he was young, he was sent to live with his uncle in Brentford, West London where he first started to paint.
Q: How old was Turner when he became a student at the Royal Academy of Art school?
A: Turner became a student at the Royal Academy of Art school in London when he was 14 years old. He was accepted into the academy a year later.
Q: What kind of paintings did Turner produce as his personal style developed?
A: As his personal style developed, Turner began to produce paintings that were generalised or exaggerated in form and colour rather than realistic or detailed. These caused much argument as to their artistic value but are now some of his best loved works.
Q: What places did Turner visit during his life?
A: During his life, Turner often travelled across Europe visiting France, Switzerland, Italy (Venice), and Paris (the Louvre).
Q: Who were some artists that influenced him early on in his career? A: In his early career, Turner was influenced by the painters Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin who painted "historical" landscapes.
Q: What are some famous paintings by him? A: Some famous paintings by him include The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up; Rain Steam and Speed which shows a steam train crossing a bridge; Snowstorm which shows a steamship in a snowstorm trying to get into harbour; The Shipwreck of the HMS Minotaur; The Eruption of Vesuvius; The Slave Ship or Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying—Typhoon coming on; Crossing the Brook which is a stunning scenic view of Tamar Valley & River from New Bridge near Gunnislake in Cornwall painted 1815
