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Turner: The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner

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Author: Moyle, Franny

Color: Tan

Edition: Illustrated

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Number Of Pages: 528

Details:

The life of one of Western art's most admired and misunderstood painters   J.M.W. Turner is one of the most important figures in Western art, and his visionary work paved the way for a revolution in landscape painting. Over the course of his lifetime, Turner strove to liberate painting from an antiquated system of patronage. Bringing a new level of expression and color to his canvases, he paved the way for the modern artist.   Turner was very much a man of his changing era. In his lifetime, he saw Britain ravaged by Napoleonic wars, revived by the Industrial Revolution, and embarked upon a new moment of Imperial glory with the ascendancy of Queen Victoria. His own life embodied astonishing transformation. Born the son of a barber in Covent Garden, he was buried amid pomp and ceremony in St. Paul's Cathedral.   Turner was accepted into the prestigious Royal Academy at the height of the French Revolution when a climate of fear dominated Britain. Unable to travel abroad he explored at home, reimagining the landscape to create some of the most iconic scenes of his country. But his work always had a profound human element. When a moment of peace allowed travel into Europe, Turner was one of the first artists to capture the beauty of the Alps, to revive Venice as a subject, and to follow in Byron’s footsteps through the Rhine country.   While he was commercially successful for most of his career, Turner's personal life remained fraught. His mother suffered from mental illness and was committed to Bedlam.  Turner never married but had several long-term mistresses and illegitimate daughters. His erotic drawings were numerous but were covered up by prurient Victorians after his death.   Turner's late, impressionistic work was held up by his Victorian detractors as example of a creeping madness. Affection for the artist’s work soured. John Ruskin, the greatest of all 19th century art critics, did what he could to rescue Turner’s reputation, but Turner’s very last works confounded even his greatest defender.   TURNER humanizes this surprising genius while placing him in his fascinating historical context. Franny Moyle brilliantly tells the story of the man to give us an astonishing portrait of the artist and a vivid evocation of Britain and Europe in flux.

Reviews:

“Was Turner the first popular artist of the modern age? Franny Moyle certainly believes so…. Ms. Moyle, who has previously written biographies of Mrs. Oscar Wilde and the Pre-Raphaelites, is excellent at establishing… stylistic contexts… She has written a fine book, deftly weaving psychological detail, painterly observations and historical context.”

— The Wall Street Journal

“[Moyle’s] history flows attractively… her text keeps us aware of the Europe-wide wars…These wars and the meteorological melodramas devised on his easel seem to complement one another, each shining a lurid stormlight on what Moyle dubs an ‘epic’ era. Her book stirs with its suggestions of the interconnections…. Moyle… lend[s] Turner a rounded and sympathetic persona.”

— The New York Review of Books

“Moyle carefully documents Turner’s impact on European art, and she includes a selection of color plates to illustrate the evolution of his work. Turner’s unconventional life also makes fascinating reading. This biography is highly recommended.”

— Historical Novel Society 

“A textured portrait of a complex artist…. Moyle proves herself a critic whose erudition stems from countless hours smelling the paint and gazing at brushstrokes, as well as a biographer who’s spent time in the archives, analyzing sketch books and hunting down letters… As a general biography, ‘Turner’ is excellent. Moyle’s background as a television producer comes through in her engaging narrative structure, and her beautiful prose conveys Turner’s glittering work and the sheer scope of his achievements.”

— Washington Post

“Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), the outstanding British landsc...

EAN: 9780735220928

Release Date: 25-10-2016

Languages: English

Item Note: Great shape- pages are unmarked and sharp.Has a remainder mark. Hardcover Used - Like New Ships fast! 2016Illustrated

Item Condition: UsedLikeNew

Binding: Hardcover