The Junction of the Thames and the Medway
J. M. W. Turner·1807
Historical Context
Turner's Junction of the Thames and the Medway (c. 1807) at the National Gallery of Art depicts the confluence of the two rivers where they merge into the Thames estuary near Sheerness. Turner produced numerous paintings of the Thames estuary and the Kent and Essex coastline during his early and middle career, combining topographic accuracy with the atmospheric treatment of maritime light and weather that was his principal contribution to English landscape painting. The estuary subject — the blending of river and sea, the specific quality of light over wide tidal water — was one he returned to throughout his career, and these early treatments established the compositional and atmospheric principles his late style would push to their extreme.
Technical Analysis
The broad river estuary provides an expansive canvas for Turner's atmospheric effects. The sky and water merge in subtle gradations of tone, with shipping providing dark accents against the luminous background.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice how the broad estuary creates horizontal compositional emphasis: the vast expanse of the Thames and Medway junction extends the pictorial space to its maximum, dwarfing the shipping.
- ◆Look at the quality of estuary light: the specific pale, diffuse light over the wide tidal flats has a different character from Turner's Mediterranean subjects or his storms, creating a uniquely English atmosphere.
- ◆Observe the careful tonal gradations connecting sea and sky at the horizon: Turner merges these two vast horizontal planes in subtle transitions that make the boundary between them invisible.
- ◆Find the vessels in the middle distance: their dark shapes provide scale within the vast atmospheric space, revealing how small human enterprise is within these open natural expanses.
Provenance
Purchased 1807, almost certainly from Turner's gallery, by Thomas Lister Parker [1779-1858], Brownsholme Hall, Yorkshire; (sale, 1808, bought in).[1] (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 9 March 1811, no. 29, bought in). John Newington Hughes [-1848], Winchester, after 1826; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 14-15 April 1848, 2nd day, no. 147); (Thomas Rought); sold 3 May 1848 to Joseph Gillott, Birmingham; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 19-20, 26-27 April 1872, 4th day, no. 306); (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London); sold 1872 to Richard Hemming [died c. 1892], Bentley Manor, Bromsgrove, and London; by inheritance to his wife; sold 1892 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London); sold 1893 to (Wallis & Son, London); purchased 10 March 1894 through John G. Johnson by Peter A.B. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] David Brown, "Turner, Callcott and Thomas Lister Parker: New Light on Turners' `Junction of the Thames and the Medway' in Washington," _Burlington Magazine_, 117 (1975), 721.
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