J.M.W.TURNER

J.M.W.Turner

Rain, Steam, and Speed The Great Western Railway

About the rain there can be no doubt; it envelops the whole land in a light veil of mist; it strikes like beams across the bridge. Butit is only summer rain, not sufficient to stop the ploughman in he field over the water a good strong shower. however, which must somewhat disconcert the waders or bathers on the left. The steam also is obvious. visibly in the puffs that come from the engine, and. mentally, from the fact of there being an engine at all. And the speed yes, that is evident too. from the distance between the puffs of steam, and the terror of the poor hare. who will surely be overtaken and crushed in an instant. Some persons see a deeper meaning in this picture, something analogous to that of theTémérairs the old order changing, the easy-going past giving way to the quick-living future; and there is something in the contrast between the plough and the stean­engine the ugly form of the railway bridge and train, and the beauty and peace of the old bridge and the landscape, which shows that some such thoughts were not absent from the painter’s mind. But this is one of the pictures which is best without a title. for no title can comprehend all it may be intended to mean. It. suggestiveness is infinite, and, for those who do not care about seeking out hidden meanings, its marvellous ness is sufficient of itself Any one can go and stand before it. and the longer they so stand the more wonderful will appear the power which could suggest much by touches, which seem at first to be as meaningless are innumerable and slight.
The National Gallery of London