A Visual Art Analysis of Slave Ship, a Painting by J.M.W. Turner Essay

For my visual art analysis, I chose the work, Slave Ship, painted by J.M.W. Turner in 1840 (Slave ship, 1840). The painting is done with rough brushstrokes that make up the sky and water. The bright colors of the sky contrast with the dark waters, and reflect off of the center portion On first glance, this paintings bright background almost looks like a pleasant sunset scene, but upon further inspection, you notice the turmoil within.The ship is canted at an angle amidst tumultuous waters. Bodies are visible being tossed upon the waves, hands reaching towards the heavens. In the lower right corner, one body appears to be being fed on by fish, the shackled leg sticking up out of the water. Other debris is visible, as well. Rocks protruding from the waters lead me to believe a shipwreck has occurred in which the slaves were tossed overboard and are now fighting for their lives. Several birds are diving close to the water, presumably in search of carrion and whatever else they can carry off. It is difficult to determine the race of the individuals whose limbs are flailing in the water. The image in this painting that stands out the most to me, is the shackled limb being fed upon by fish. This is obviously a slave, due to the shackles on the leg. It is a powerful image that depicts the unnecessary and horrific death of someone who was placed in the situation against their will to begin with.This painting is classified as being created during the Romantic period. The Romantic period ran from 1750 to 1900, overlapping with the Realist period, which began in 1840, the exact time this painting was created. The themes of this painting are what categorize it as part of the Romantic period rather than the Realist period, which will be discussed later in this paper.The major themes of the Romantic period were Nationalism, Exoticism, Revolution, Heroism, Passion, Individualism,...

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