Review Of Ruskin's Turners At The Fitzwilliam Museum

This is my minute review of the watercolour exhibitions currently on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge until Lord's Day quaternary October.

This 1 is devoted to Ruskin's Turners - together with is a niggling after than planned. You tin notice out to a greater extent than close them below. However the of import things to authorities annotation is that at that topographic point are very long intervals betwixt exhibitions of these paintings. The last exhibition was 15 years agone inwards 2000!

I was real impressed past times the exhibition. It's good lit so yous tin encounter the watercolours clearly. The images also receive got real informative annotations. I'm sure enough going dorsum for a minute expect earlier the exhibition closes.

Note: You tin encounter my review of the Two watercolour exhibitions at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Ruskin's Turners

John Ruskin was an amazing human - 1 would combat to mean value of his equal today.
Ruskin was the greatest British fine art critic together with social commentator of the Victorian Age. His ideas inspired the Arts together with Crafts Movement together with the founding of the National Trust, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, together with the Labour Movement. The Ruskin Research Centre
He was drew together with painted inwards watercolour.  His hero was JMW Turner.

25 of the 55 watercolours owned past times the Fitzwilliam were gifted to the Museum past times John Ruskin inwards 1861.

The Fitzwilliam's "Turner Collection" of watercolours was devised equally a instruction aid for students at the University of Cambridge. The collection illustrates the evolution inwards the usage of watercolour past times Turner over the class of his real long career equally an creative mortal - from historic menstruum 17 to 68 years old. They include majority illustrations, architectural drawings together with landscapes.

Ruskin was also 1 of the showtime collectors to recognise that low-cal truly damages watercolours which incorporate fugitive pigments inwards the paint. He took practical activity inwards ii ways to restrain the damaging resultant of light.
The Mahogany Cabinet made to store
Ruskin's Turner Watercolours
is also on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
  • First his gift was conditional on the Fitzwilliam collection of Turners never existence lent exterior the Museum. Hence they are exclusively shown at express intervals - which is why this is your concluding conduct chances to encounter them for likely the adjacent 10 years.
  • Second, he made sure that when stored that the collection was kept prophylactic from low-cal within the mahogony of a cabinet representative made especially for the collection
You can view the Turner Watercolours online on the website.

This transportation also contains images of some of the paintings on view.  The link inwards the championship of each is to its page on the Fitzwilliam online collection  website which provides much to a greater extent than information close that private painting.

Interestingly they're all listed equally drawings - because of class watercolour was considered to live a sketching medium rather than a serious icon medium.

I receive got to say I'm delighted that I've got the large versions to expect at together with tin written report his technique!

For all those devotees of the pen together with ink together with watercolour wash, this exhibition provides an inspiration!  He uses a pencil for unloosen shapes together with so I mean value he applies uncomplicated washes - oft using exactly ii colours - together with so restates the shapes of the buildings together with people together with animals real merely using sepia ink. The tape says he also uses dark ink but I must confess I'm struggling to encounter where.

Now yous know who inspired me to ever usage sepia ink when sketching!

Brunnen, Lake Lucerne inwards the distance c.1841-3,
J.M.W Turner (1775-1851).
watercolour over graphite, alongside pen, brownish together with dark ink on newspaper
(touches of watercolour, verso, from adjacent page)
height, 225, mm; width, 290, mm
Image: copyright Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
In 1842, Turner presented his dealer, Thomas Griffiths, alongside a grouping of xv sample watercolours from which he proposed to operate upwards 10 large finished watercolours on receipt of committee for specific views. In the event, Griffiths succeeded inwards finding exclusively iii purchasers - 1 of whom was Ruskin - who betwixt them agreed to purchase all but 1 of the finished group. These Ruskin after described equally ‘the 10 drawings which Turner did for love'. Turner showtime visited Brünnen inwards 1802. During his visits to Switzerland inwards 1841 together with 1842, he extended his cognition of the fundamental Alps together with the northern shore of Lake Geneva, concentrating especially on Lake Zug together with Lake Lucerne together with their surrounding mountains. He explored Brunnen most extensively inwards 1843. In after life, Ruskin came to prefer Turner’s Swiss sketches to his finished views, which he complained Turner had ‘spoiled’ past times putting inwards the ‘ugly hotels’. (Text from 'Ruskin's Turners' Exhibition Website).
Ruskin regarded Turner equally "the exclusively perfect landscape painter that the footing has ever seen".


Turner for his purpose considered that Ruskin saw rather to a greater extent than inwards his paintings than he ever painted!

watercolour over graphite alongside paste arabic on paper
J.M.W Turner (1775-1851) - given past times John Ruskin inwards 1861
watercolour over graphite, alongside pen, brownish together with dark ink on paper
(touches of watercolour, verso, from adjacent page)
height, 280 mm; width 400 mm
Image: copyright Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
This paradigm relates to a serial made for subsequent job engraving inwards Charles Heath’s ‘Picturesque Scenery inwards England together with Wales’.  It's thought that this is a stance taken from the north-west of Swaledale, betwixt Whitcliffe together with High Gingerfield. It's also thought to live based on a drawing made during a walking tour of the North Riding of Yorkshire inwards close 1816.

Yes - that is a domestic dog performing tricks alongside a lid on inwards the foreground!

You tin see the 5 sketchbooks completed past times Turner on his walking tour of Yorkshire inwards 1816 on the Tate United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland website.

Flüelen from the lake c.1840-43
J.M.W Turner (1775-1851) - given past times John Ruskin inwards 1861
watercolour alongside some blood-red together with dark ink
 and scratching out on newspaper watermarked Whatman
Image: copyright Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
This 1 was concluding seen inwards 1959!

As ever alongside Turner, he demonstrates swell involvement inwards the atmospheric condition together with atmospheric effects generated within both heaven together with water.
Fluelen lies at the Southern halt of Lake Lucerne, together with was an of import betoken on the route to Italy via the St Gothard Pass. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 ‘sample’ stance of 'Fluelen' (Tate Gallery) was worked upwards into a finished watercolour inwards Nov 1845 for H. A. J. Munro of Novar, 1 of Turner’s principal patrons. As inwards that drawing, Turner concentrates on the ii most prominent buildings inwards the town, the baroque church building of Sts George together with Nikalaus and, behind it, the medieval travel on known equally Schlösschen Rudenz. Turner visited Fluelen inwards the early on 1840s. Broad stylistic similarities alongside 'Venice, tempest at sunset' inwards the rendering of the vortex of the tempest together with agitated H2O surface back upwards a appointment of exactly about 1841 for this view.(Text from the 'Ruskin's Turner's Exhibition Website).
Venice from the Lagoon 1840
Venice, from betwixt the Giudecca together with the Isola di San Giorgio, alongside the Bacino di San Marco c.1840,J.M.W Turner (1775-1851) - given past times John Ruskin inwards 1861
watercolour together with bodycolour over graphite together with dark ink on newspaper
(note the comments close the newspaper below)
height, 230 mm; width 305
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
This icon of Venice 1 was concluding  on display inwards 1959 together with 2000.  His paintings of both boats together with people are gestural - his principal involvement lies inwards the overall scene together with the color together with atmospheric effects establish inwards Venice.
Ruskin showtime visited Venice inwards 1835, together with over the subsequent decade became alternately depressed together with outraged past times the physical degradation of the city. To an extent, he establish consolation inwards Turner’s ‘dreamlike together with dim, but glorious’ vision of the city. The fact that he gave all the drawings he ever owned of Venice to either Oxford or Cambridge has been considered past times some commentators equally a reflection of his dismay at the devastation of the city. This watercolour is executed on newspaper which is identifiable past times its watermark equally a forgery of a Whatman paper, perhaps Austrian inwards origin. The surface of the newspaper is quite unlike to whatever other which Turner used inwards Venice, together with makes the effects of bodycolour real pronounced. (Text from 'Ruskin's Turners' Exhibition Website)
 Some of the paintings include groups of figures inwards the foreground. His handling of them varies

Orléans, Twilight (c. 1826-1831)
J.M.W Turner (1775-1851) - given past times John Ruskin inwards 1861
Watercolour together with bodycolour alongside pen, blood-red together with grayness ink on blueish paper
height, 140 mm; width 195
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Ruskin acquired this watercolour from Hannah Cooper (Turner’s stockbroker’s niece) inwards May 1858. It is 1 of a grouping of 10 drawings on blueish newspaper which he acquired at this time, paying 50 guineas per design. He referred to the serial communally equally Turner’s ‘blue drawings’. The ready of views of the Loire was, inwards fact, the showtime for which Turner made extensive usage of a blueish newspaper ground. The newspaper was manufactured exclusively sometime after 1821 at a factory close Bath, together with Turner’s willingness to usage it reflects his enthusiasm for experimenting alongside novel materials. (Text from 'Ruskin's Turners' Exhibition Website).
The paintings higher upwards together with below are painted on the blueish newspaper which Turner favoured.

For those wanting to attempt blueish newspaper similar the 1 used past times Turner yous should accept a expect at the Turner Blue newspaper on the Rushcombe Handmade Papers website. This newspaper factory was allowed access past times Tate United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland to the papers inwards the Turner Collection to seek how they were made together with so the papers produced today receive got been made according to the same traditional processes equally applied at the time. It's equally unopen equally yous volition ever larn to icon on the same newspaper that Turner used.

Yarmouth Sands c.1824-1830
J.M.W Turner (1775-1851) - given past times John Ruskin inwards 1861
Watercolour together with bodycolour on blueish paper
eight 185 mm, width 245 mm
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge 
Turner's paintings of people ever brand me wonder whether he truly saw them similar this or added them inwards from the real many sketches he made over time.
  • In the Orléans, Twilight icon higher upwards - which is real small-scale - the figures are characterised past times shapes for heads together with legs with no a lot of Definition inwards the body. Dabs of pigment so differentiate 1 from the other.
  • In the Yarmouth Sands icon - which is a niggling larger - the people are painted alongside to a greater extent than Definition together with non a niggling bodycolour.
Sadly, at that topographic point is no catalogue for this exhibition or for the Ruskin Collection of Turner's artwork equally a whole. Surely some sponsor could live establish for a majority of this especially unique collection - or a grant sought from the Heritage Lottery Fund?

The exhibition also includes paintings past times John Ruskin himself.  It's non hard to authorities annotation the divergence inwards colours used betwixt Turner together with Ruskin. The sketch of a Palazzo inwards Pisa below is also focused on the architecture together with real much reminds me of the type of sketch produced past times urban sketchers exactly about the world....

Palazzo Agostini, Pisa.
Ruskin, John (British, 1819-1900).
Ink used alongside the tip of the brush, watercolour together with some white on grey-green paper,
meridian 478 mm, width 338 mm
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

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