In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame.

Appropriately known as “the painter of light,” Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature.

This book covers Turner’s illustrious, wide-ranging repertoire to introduce an artist who combined a traditional genre with a radical modernism.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Brilliant choice of 52 watercolours. Most of them are full-page.

Extracts from books of Maurice Barrès, André Suarès, Thomas Mann, Henri de Régnier, John Ruskin, Henry James, Goethe, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Lord Byron, Marcel Proust, Madame de Staël, Stendhal.

Turner, Whistler and Monet were all fascinated by the transience of light and how that alone could affect the atmostphere of a painting. They were also highly experimental for their time, rejecting the use of realism in favour of creating the impression of place instead. This is a perfect gift book for any lover of art and co-incides with the Tate exhibition of the same name.

Джозеф Мэллорд Уильям Тернер - величайший из живописцев. Каждая его акварель - это "пейзаж плюс человеческая душа", его формы выходят за рамки обычной реальности, он первым преодолел границы традиционной европейской живописи и еще за шестьдесят лет до Матисса и Пикассо начал современную революцию в искусстве. Выставки шедевров Тернера и в наши дни собирают миллионы поклонников его творчества по всему миру.

Среди лучших биографов и знатоков творчества Тернера - Эрик Шейнс, автор многих книг о художнике, отмеченных престижными международными премиями. Одну из этих книг вы держите в руках. Первый ее раздел содержит подробную биографию великого Мастера - увлекательный рассказ о его семье, становлении его как живописца, мировосприятии, творческих взлетах и разочарованиях, поисках своего места в искусстве и непростой судьбе художника. Второй раздел включает богатое собрание выдающихся произведений Тернера - от самых ранних, созданных в 1790-е годы, и до последних, - сопровождаемое глубоким анализом и интересными наблюдениями.

As a blind person might see the world if the gift of sight were suddenly returned - this is how we might describe the effect of William Turner's paintings on the observer. John Ruskin, Turner's uncompromising 19th-century defender, alluded to this idea when he spoke of an "innocence of the eye" which perceived the world's colours and forms before it could recognize their significance.

But to develop such a style, William Turner (1775-1851) first had to overcome the legacy of late rococo academic teachings. He was simultaneously a romantic and a realist - and yet he transcended both styles. His landscapes, far in advance of their time, have been called forerunners of Impressionism, yet they also possess traits that influenced Expressionism, and many of his late compositions are undeniably surrealistic.

Turner's art cannot be bound by such classifications, and remains an oddity to art history even today. His work arises from a unique relation to the nature that it depicts: through his brilliant sketches, he found a rigorously open kind of painting in which nature sets free the use of colour. And through the workings of the natural elements - especially atmospheric light - Turner confronted nature at the point where nature itself is an image. This book opens up Turner's paintings for the eye, demonstrating that he was not simply illustrating nature, but that his pictures speak directly to the eye as nature does itself - through a world of light and colour.

About the Series:

Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:
* a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist
* approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions
* a concise biography

135 illustrations

J.M.W. Turner was arguably the greatest landscape and marine painter ever. His output was prodigious: some five hundred and fifty oil paintings, over two thousand highly detailed and finely finished watercolours, and almost twenty thousand sketches, studies and rough watercolours. He excelled in every branch of landscape and marine painting, from elaborate history pictures and idealised scenes in the classical tradition, to tiny, jewel-like watercolours of contemporary life on land and sea made for subsequent engraved reproduction. This book takes us on a grand tour of the artist’s works.

The Author
Eric Shanes is a leading authority on J.M.W. Turner, and is himself a painter. He was the founding Editor of Turner Studies, a journal published by the Tate Gallery, London. He is a Vice- President of the Turner Society, and is currently its Chairman. He organised the Turner: The Great Watercolours exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of the painter in 2000-2001.
Eric Shanes has also written best-selling books on Constantin Brancusi, Salvador Dalí, David Hockney, Warhol and Pop Art and on the Impressionists in London. He has published widely on contemporary art issues, and is much in demand as a lecturer on art all over the world.

J.M.W. Turner was arguably the greatest landscape and marine painter ever. His output was prodigious: some five hundred and fifty oil paintings, over two thousand highly detailed and finely finished watercolours, and almost twenty thousand sketches, studies and rough watercolours. He excelled in every branch of landscape and marine painting, from elaborate history pictures and idealised scenes in the classical tradition, to tiny, jewel-like watercolours of contemporary life on land and sea made for subsequent engraved reproduction. This book takes us on a grand tour of the artist’s works.

Книга об английском пейзажисте Уильяме Тёрнере (1775—1851). Английские пейзажи принесли ему мировую известность. Тёрнер никогда не придавал никакого значения изображению людей. Персонажи его картин были всегда поглощены созерцанием природы, объединяя, таким образом, тех, кто любовался его живописью, и героев картины. Художник позволял человеку раствориться в среде. Основное впечатление в его картинах производят нюансы цвета и структуры, сочетания пастозных мазков и карандашных штрихов. Удивительная тонкость, прозрачность цветовых слоев, легкость и одновременно убедительность рисунка были очевидными лишь в оригиналах. Творения Тёрнера невозможно воспроизвести. Даже самые лучшие репродукции служат единственной цели — побудить читателя увидеть оригиналы. В жизни Тёрнер был странным человеком, многие считали его сумасшедшим. Он не поддерживал отношения с людьми, держал в тайне свой адрес. Увлекался поэзией, даже пытался писать стихи сам. Одно время он преподавал в Академии, но лекции его были скучными, и студенты почти совсем не посещали его занятия.

Издание состоит из шести глав, рассказывающих о жизни художника и об истории создания каждой картины, представленной в издании. В конце книги приводится хронология жизни и творчества мастера.