William Turner in Budapest

The first monographic exhibition in Hungary of the painter J. M. William Turner will be hosted in The Museum of Fine Arts, in Budapest, from July 15th to October 25th.

The exhibition, named Turner and Italy is arranged by outstanding British experts, and will come to Budapest after being shown in Ferrara and Edinburgh, with its material slightly modified.

Turner’s talent was recognized early in his life, and the financial independence allowed him to travel widely across Europe. His experience of the Mediterranean landscape together with its conditions of light fundamentally changed his style, making his palette lighter. Having visited Venice on three occasions, Turner, like many other artists, was enchanted by its singular atmosphere. Turner’s Venice-inspired watercolors filled with light, together with his late unfinished color sketches, have become extremely popular since through them spectators may trace the precedents of abstract painting.

The artist’s career is presented in chronological order, ranging from early landscapes to the almost abstract pictures of his last period, their motifs dissolving into patches of color.

The exhibition will present Turner’s career in about 80 works presented in chronological order, ranging from early landscapes to the almost abstract pictures of his last period.

The Whale Ship

Turner was seventy years old when he first exhibited “The Whale Ship” at the annual Royal Academy exhibition of 1845. The painting was praised by some but derided by many; critics in both camps acknowledged that the subject matter might seem elusive at first glance. English novelist William Thackeray explained to readers of “Fraser’s Magazine”: “That is not a smear of purple you see yonder, but a beautiful whale, whose tail has just slapped a half-dozen whale-boats into perdition; and as for what you fancied to be a few zig-zag lines spattered on the canvas at hap-hazard, look! they turn out to be a ship with all her sails.”

It is thought that Turner painted this painting as well as three others dating to the same period (all, Tate, London) in the hope that they would appeal to Elhanan Bicknell, a collector of British art who had made his fortune in the whale-oil business. Supposedly, after examining “The Whale Ship” in his home, Bicknell was annoyed to find that Turner had finished the painting with touches of watercolors. The collector tried to rub out the watercolored areas with his handkerchief before returning the painting to the artist.