JMW Turner (1775-1851), Modern Italy, the Pifferari (1838). Oil on canvas, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow. Picture © Culture and Sport Glasgow (Museums)
Exhibition: Turner & Italy, Royal Scottish Academy Building, National Gallery of Scotland, March 27 – June 7 2009
The National Gallery of Scotland opens its major Spring exhibition to the public tomorrow in a celebration of JMW Turner's love affair with Italy described as the most important retrospective of the 18th century painter’s work ever held by the institution.
More than 100 oil paintings, watercolours, sketchbooks and books illustrate Turner’s fascination with the country, starring "spectacular" loans from an international roster of collections.
JMW Turner (1775-1851), Rome, from the Vatican (1820). Oil on canvas, Tate, London. Picture © Tate, London 2008
Director Michael Clarke cited Turner as "probably the greatest and most inventive of all landscape painters." "His unique sensitivity to nature's variety, allied to his astonishing technical facility, mark him out as a truly extraordinary talent who never ceases to amaze us," said Clarke, speaking ahead of the three-month show.
"This will be the most important Turner show ever mounted by the Galleries and we are looking forward to it enormously."
JMW Turner (1775-1851), Approach to Venice (1844). Oil on canvas, Andrew W Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art Washington. Picture courtesy the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Highlights include Rome from the Vatican, an 1819 panorama of the city provided by Tate Britain, and his Approach to Venice, which comes courtesy of Washington's National Gallery of Art.
Turner’s seven trips to Italy came at a time when such voyages took several weeks, repeated over a sufficiently significant period of time to reflect most of his influences and stylistic diversions.
JMW Turner (1775-1851), Neapolitan Fisher-girls Surprised Bathing by Moonlight (1840). Oil on canvas, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California. Picture courtesy of the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California
Unless you're in Italy or Hungary later in the year, this is the only chance to see the exhibition in the UK. The first cumulative consideration of Turner's Romantic absorption, the retrospective is also accompanied by a series of lectures and events.
Admission £8/£6. Visit National Galleries Scotland or call 0131 624 6200 for further details.
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