A N G EL IN THE SUN L. Haghe, after a wash drawing of 1830-32 byJ.T. Smith. J.M.W. Turner, RA Drawn ...in the Print Room of the British Museum. Lithograph. London, British Museum Jingel in the Sun T U R N E R 'S V I S I ON OF HISTORY GERALD FINLEY McGill-Queen's University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca © McGill-Queen 's University Press 1999 ISBN 0-7735-1747-2 Legal deposit first quarter 1999 Bibliotheque Rationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for its activities. We also acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Finley, Gerald, 1931- Angel in the sun: Turner's vision of history Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7735-1747-2 i. Turner, J.M.W. (Joseph Mallord William), 1775-1851 - Criticism and interpretation. 2. History in art. I. Title. ND497.T8F54 1999 759.2 098-900899-1 Designed by Miriam Bloom, Expression Communications This book was typeset by Typo Litho Composition Inc. in 10/13 Baskerville. For Christopher, Elizabeth, Heath, and Johanna This page intentionally left blank Contents FIGURES ix PREFACE xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii COLOUR PLATES XV 1 Turner and History: A Brief Introduction 3 2 The Louvre and the Royal Academy Lectures 6 3 Greece and Italy i g 4 The Dynamics of Myth and Legend 46 5 Rural Retreats 83 6 "In memory's mystic band": Commemorating the Past and Present 94 7 "Let my words / Out live the maker" 114 8 Steam Triumphant: Bane or Benefit? 129 9 "The Terrible Muses": Astronomy and Geology 148 10 Biblical History: Fall to Apocalypse 174 11 Light and Colour: Theory and Practice 187 12 "The dark'ning Deluge": Shade and Darkness and Light and Colour, the Late Deluge Pictures 200 EPILOGUE 209 APPENDIX: Daniel Wilson and Regulus 211 NOTES 215 SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY 238 INDEX 245 This page intentionally left blank Figures 18 Venice 39 19 Rome, from the Vatican 41 20 The Tiber, from a Statue in the Vatican 42 21 Forum Romanum, for Mr Soane 's Museum 43 2 2 Modern Italy - the Pijferari 44 23 Ancient Italy — Ovid Banished from Rome 45 24 The frontispiece for the Liber Studiorum 47 Paintings in oil are on canvas unless otherwise indicated. 2 5 Venus and Adonis, or Adonis Departing for the Chase 48 26 E.F. Burney, The Antique School at Somerset House 49 The following abbreviations are used in the captions of the illustra- 27 Glaucus and Scylla (painting) 50 tions to indicate catalogue references: 28 Bacchus and Ariadne 51 BJ Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The Paintings ofJ.M.W. Turner. Rev. ed. 29 Glaucus and Scylla (drawing) 53 2 vols. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press 1984. 30 Apullia in Search ofAppulus vide Ovid 54 R W.G. Rawlinson, The Engraved Work ofJ.M.W. Turner, RA 2 vols. Lon- 31 The Goddess of Discord Choosing the Apple of Contention in the Garden of the don: Macmillan 1908-13. Hesperides 56 TB A.J. Finberg, A Complete Inventory of the Drawings of the Turner Bequest. 32 J.A. Watteau, Acis et Galathe 57 2 vols. London: HMSO, 1909. 33 Vision of Medea 58 w Andrew Wilton, The Life and Work ofJ.M. W. Turner. London: Academy 34 Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus - Homer's Odyssey 60 Editions 1979. 35 Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus (oil sketch) 61 L. Haghe, after a wash drawing byJ.T. Smith. J.M.W. Turner, RA 36 Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus (drawing) 63 frontispiece 37 Dido and Aeneas 66 1 A. Gilbert, after Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon on the Great 38 Dido Building Carthage; or the Rise of the Carthaginian Empire 68 St Bernard 8 39 The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire 69 2 M. Rota, after Titian, The Martyrdom of St Peter Martyr 9 40 Dido Directing the Equipment of the Fleet, or The Morning of the Carthagin- 3 The Amateur Artist 16 ian Empire 70 4 The Garreteer's Petition 17 41 Mercury Sent to Admonish Aeneas 72 5 A Country Blacksmith Disputing upon the Price of Iron 18 42 The Visit to the Tomb 73 6 Apollo and Python 21 43 Engraving by W. Hollar, after F. Cleyn, illustrating Dryden's 7 The Tenth Plague of Egypt 23 Aeneis 74 8 View of the Temple of Jupiter Panellenius 24 44 The Departure of the Fleet 7 5 9 The Temple of Jupiter Panellenius Restored 25 45 Aeneas and the Sibyl, Lake Avernus 77 10 The Temple of Jupiter Panellenius Restored (detail) 27 46 Lake Avernus: Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl 78 11 Rokeby 28 47 The Golden Bough 80 12 The Acropolis, Athens 29 48 Engraving by W. Hollar after F. Cleyn, illustrating Dryden's 13 The Temple of Minerva, Sunium, Cape Colonna 31 Aeneis 81 14 Venice: The Campanile ofSt Mark's and the Doge's Palace 34 49 Pope's Villa at Twickenham 85 15 Venice: The Riva degli Schiavoni from the Channel to the Lido 35 50 Near the Thames'Lock, Windsor 86 16 The Dogano, San Giorgio, Citetta, from the Steps of the Europa 37 51 London 87 17 Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Night 38 52 England: Richmond Hill, on the Prince Regent's Birthday 89