William Turner and the Royal Academy

William Turner was a child prodigy and his father, a Covent Garden barber and wig maker, was so proud of his talents that he exposed his drawings in his workshop whereas William was only 12. He started painting in 1786 when he was sent to his uncle’s who lived on the banks of the Thames because his mother, who suffered from mental disturbance, could not look after him. His taste for landscapes probably found its origins there.
From 1789, he studied at the Royal Academy and his first work, A view of the Archbishop’s  Palace, Lambeth was displayed there when he was 15.

He was then accepted into the academy by a famous painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds. He regularly exhibited watercolours and spent his time travelling and painting. Used to painting watercolours, he changed his technique in 1796 when he exhibited his first oil painting at the Academy, Fishermen at Sea.

In 1799, William Turner was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Academy and in 1802 he became a full Academician. From 1807 he was Professor of Perspective at the Academy where he lectured until 1828 but he never became president of the prestigious institution.
What characterizes Turner’s works today is how he managed to capture light and shade in his paintings –a great innovation– and some of them, like Rain, Steam and Speed are considered as highlights of his career.

As we can see here, skies mattered a lot to Turner. Indeed, most of his paintings featured the skies. Critic John Ruskin said he was ‘the’ artist who could most

And we can easily understand he meant the skies when he mentioned “the moods of Nature”.

William Turner was a controversial figure and as the years went by he became more and more eccentric. For instance, his sketches of nudes were disapproved of by lots of people, even some of his friends were embarrassed and they upset the Establishment. Others criticized his excessive use of yellow in his works and it made his detractors, jealous of his fame, say that he had jaundice.
As far as his private life is concerned, we know that he never married though two women shared his life: his housekeeper Sarah Danby with whom he is said to have had two daughters and Sophia Caroline Booth who lived with him for about 18 years; he was then known as “Mr Booth”.
He had few close friends but one of them was his father whose death in 1789 plunged him into depression. He then became pessimistic and morose and his health deteriorated. He faced poverty from 1845 and died of cholera six years later.

Precursor of the Impressionist movement, the Master of light leaves behind a considerable amount of paintings and influenced the classicist and romantic movements. He especially loved painting people, boats and landscapes. Fascinated with Nature and the sky in particular, he is even said to have muttered:

before passing away.
You can discover his works at the Tate Gallery in London.