Joseph Mallord William TurnerReino Unido, 1775–1851Regulus
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National Gallery
Londres, Reino Unido
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About the painting
Regulus is an oil painting by the English artist J. M. W. Turner, now in Tate Britain, London. It was begun in 1828 and significantly overpainted twice, first between 1829 and 1837, and again in 1837. The painting is based on a legend about the Roman consul and general Marcus Atilius Regulus, in which he was captured by Carthaginian forces and executed after refusing a prisoner exchange. Many accounts add that he was tortured by being forced to stare at the sun, blinding him. The painting depicts a harbour in either Rome or Carthage, with ships and buildings surrounding the ocean. It is dominated by the large white sun in the centre.
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Turner originally painted and exhibited Regulus in Rome, during an visit in 1828, after which it was shipped to London, where he lived. At some point during or after shipping, the upper-left part of the canvas was torn, requiring repair and repainting. The work was kept in Turner's private gallery until 1837, when it was overpainted at the British Institution during a varnishing day, an event where artists would make final revisions and varnish their paintings in front of a private audience before an exhibition. It subsequently gained notoriety, inspiring two derivative paintings and two engravings. Regulus was a controversial work, criticised heavily during its exhibitions and by contemporaries such as Turner's supporter John Ruskin. In 1863, it was stabbed by a man displeased with Turner’s technique and the artist himself. The painting has also suffered from flaking paint.
Exactly what the painting depicts is debated by scholars. Some believe the painting depicts Regulus leaving Carthage for Rome, while others argue it shows his return. Another point of contention is whether Regulus is a figure in the painting, whether it is from his perspective as he was blinded, or whether it is meant to depict Regulus's life in its entirety, conveying both aspects. Scholars have supported their interpretations using evidence drawn from the titles of subsequent engravings, Turner's other paintings, and the sources on Regulus from which Turner drew.
Pormenores
- Número de inventário
- NG519
Fontes
- Wikidata · obtido há 5 dias
- Imagem: National Gallery — J. M. W. Turner · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Entretanto, na vida de Joseph Mallord William Turner
A vida inteira1820s
Print series for publishers
In the 1820s he worked on several topographical print commissions: “Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England” (1814–1826) and “The Rivers of England” (1822–1826) for the Cooke brothers, “Picturesque Views in England and Wales” (1824–1838) for Charles Heath and “The Ports of England” (1825–1828) for Thomas Lupton.
1829
The death of his father
His father, who had lived with him for thirty years and worked as an assistant in his studio, died in 1829; the loss strongly affected Turner, who began to suffer fits of depression afterwards, and he finally abandoned his own gallery.
1829
Paris, Normandy and Brittany
In the twenty-year period from 1821 to 1844 he visited several European countries, studying the old masters and taking long hikes into the countryside: in 1829 Paris, Normandy and Brittany, and three years later Paris for the second time.
1830–1840s
Criticism in the 1830s–1840s and Ruskin’s defence
His innovative works, bordering on abstraction, gave him a reputation for madness: the Victorian public preferred realism and sentimentality, and Queen Victoria refused to knight him. John Ruskin came to his defence, calling him “the greatest artist of all time”.
