by Alexandra Tuschka
In the center of the picture the sky clears. Sea and clouds show themselves in strongest movement. The energetic center seems almost like a suction into which the surroundings can be drawn. Here is still a steamship, which has its right trouble in the midst of the battle of the elements. Compositionally, however, it fits homogeneously into the surroundings - Turner painted the entire painting in brown tones. Only the thin mast stands out as a clear form.
Turner's motif is not immediately apparent to the viewer. His painting style alone, reminiscent of the pastiness of a watercolor, conveys the impression of a ship battered by snow and wind. Turner was to perfect this style in the course of time - no longer colors and shapes were decisive for him, but only the reflection of light, which gives reality its contours and shapes.
William Turner - Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth
Oil on canvas, 1842, 91 x 122 cm, National Gallery in London
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