Turner’s Vision: The Release of Elemental Forces

The Fighting Temeraire, JMW Turner, 1839

The reports that the new £20 note issued by the Bank of England features one of JMW Turner's most celebrated paintings, The Fighting Temeraire, invites an interesting reflection on how we understand our history.

The announcement of the painting’s inclusion has been framed simply as a tribute to the key role HMS Temeraire played in Admiral Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

The warship was second in the line in the battle and came to the defence of Nelson's flagship HMS Victory when it came under heavy fire from the French. It went on to capture two French ships. Even its name resonates. ‘Temeraire’ is taken from the French word for bold or reckless. And the ship became a symbol of naval heroism.

But, as ever with these things, there’s a deeper story here.

The full title of the painting is The Fighting Temeraire, tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1838. Turner had painted the ship’s last days - long after its moment of glory - as the 98-gun warship was towed by a steam tug towards its final berth in a Rotherhithe shipyard, where it would be broken up for scrap.

The ghostly splendour of the decaying ship is in sharp contrast to the blackened form of the tugboat with its tall smokestack, pulling the ship to its fate.  

The passing of an old world

Turner was reflecting on the Temeraire's heroic past. The glorious sunset symbolises the end of an era as the days of naval wind power were being challenged by the growing use of steam to power ships.

Turner was also looking forward to the shape of an emerging new Britain.

This was a period of explosive economic and social change. The rapid development of capitalism, and the subsequent industrial revolution, was characterised by the swift growth of manufacturing. This provided the impetus for British expansion across the world in a relentless search for raw materials and the markets in which to trade its goods. Which, in turn, underlined the importance of a strong navy, essential for the maintenance of Britain’s colonies and the protection of its merchant shipping.

Britannia really did rule the waves. And, reflecting its importance relative to a land army, the Royal Navy was dubbed the “senior service”.

The French revolution of 1789-93, particularly as it moved into its more radical phase with the execution of King Louis XVI and the Jacobin terror, had caused panic in ruling circles across Europe. Especially so in Britain, where the industrial revolution had produced significant social dislocation, poverty and inequality.

Monarchist Europe combined against revolutionary France. But, with the exception of England, it was defeated. The accession of Napoleon betrayed the democratic gains of the French Revolution, but his expansionist policies remained a threat to other European powers. Britain found herself at war with Spain, now allied with France. Her powerful navy kept the enemy at a safe distance, but war broke out again in 1803.

There was a very real possibility of a combined Franco-Spanish fleet reaching the English Channel and a subsequent invasion of Britain by Napoleon and his Grande Armée of 114,000 troops, based at Boulogne.

Why Turner?

In the Battle of Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, Nelson overwhelmingly defeated the French and Spanish fleets, using surprise to break the enemy line at which point the superior gunnery and seamanship of the British fleet could be deployed to devastating effect.

Nelson died, after being hit by a sharpshooter’s musket ball.  

But the British victory at Trafalgar was an event of great historical significance. It ended Napoleon’s plans to invade England. And guaranteed Britain’s naval supremacy for the rest of the century.

The Bank of England chose Turner for the £20 banknote from a short-list of visual artists which included filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, sculptor Barbara Hepworth, painter William Hogarth and designer Josiah Wedgwood.

Presumably, this had something to do with his stature as a great painter. As well as his popularity with the general public. The Fighting Temeraire was, after all, voted the nation's favourite painting in a 2005 poll run by BBC Radio 4. But it probably also reflects the different readings that can be attached to works of art, which can support or challenge dominant narratives.

Light is therefore colour

Turner used art to mirror the economic, social and technological transformations taking place around him. Famous paintings of his, such as Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway and The Slave Ship do this with great force.

He also reflected these developments with a new representational dynamic, particularly in his later years, which built on the Enlightenment emphasis on the individual, emphasised the importance of human perceptions and explored our relationship with both nature and the new machine age. His swirling colours and clouds of light set the stage for the later development of Impressionism.

He was a singularly driven painter. As Mike Leigh, director of the acclaimed biopic Mr Turner put it, “Turner was a compulsive artist. He had to paint. He had to draw all the time – he just didn’t stop…it was an absolute obsession.”

The Fighting Temeraire was one of Turner’s favourite paintings.  

His vision absorbs you inexorably into his world. I, for one, am profoundly grateful he didn’t stop.