Chapter I: Front Matter

TURNER'S

GOLDEN VISIONS

BY

C. LEWIS HIND

WITH FIFTY OF THE PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS

OF TURNER REPRODUCED IN COLOUR

LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK

67 LONG ACRE, W. C.

AND EDINBURGH

1907

'Turner has some golden visions, glorious and beautiful. They are only visions, but still, they are art, and one could live and die with such pictures.'--John Constable on the 1828 Royal Academy Exhibition.

NOTE

In writing on Turner one must necessarily make levies on the works of other authors. I give hearty acknowledgment to Mr. A. J. Finberg's _Inventory of the Drawings of the Turner Bequest_ (printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office), which he himself has used with skill and accomplishment in his _Turner's Sketches and Drawings_ (Methuen & Co.). Among the other books consulted and quoted from are _Turner_, by Sir Walter Armstrong (Agnew & Sons); _Turner_, by W. L. Wyllie, A.R.A. (G. Bell & Sons); _The Turner Drawings_, by E. T. Cook (Pall Mall Press); _The Engraved Work of Turner_, and _Turner's 'Liber Studiorum'_, by W. G. Rawlinson; the delightful Extra Numbers of _The Studio_ on Turner, and the excellent little book by the late Cosmo Monkhouse. Ruskin, of course, is frequently referred to and quoted, also the inaccurate but indispensable Thornbury, whose _Life of Turner_ all succeeding writers on Turner have borrowed from and upbraided.

C.L.H.

CONTENTS.

PART ONE

A MEMORY: TELLS OF A BOY WHO LOVED TURNER'S 'VIEW OF ORVIETO'

I. The Boy and golden Orvieto

II. The Boy wonders at Turner's Art Life

III. The Boy wonders at Turner the Dumb Poet

IV. The Boy, having become a Man, wonders at the _Inventory of the Turner Bequest Drawings_

PART TWO (1775-1803)

FROM 'FOLLY BRIDGE' TO 'CALAIS PIER'

V. 1775. Birthplace and Parents

VI. 1790 (aged 15). He exhibits at the Royal Academy, and is described as a light-hearted, merry creature

VII. 1795 (aged 20). The Drawings of 'the ingenius Mr. Turner' are stated by a newspaper of the day to be 'tinctured with truth and fidelity'

VIII. 1800 (aged 25). His first Oil Pictures, and Extracts from his Sketch-Books

IX. 1802 (aged 27). He exhibits grandiloquent 'Jason' and a simple 'View on Clapham Common'

X. 1803 (aged 28). The Year of 'Calais Pier'

PART THREE (1804-1810)

FROM 'THE SHIPWRECK' TO AN EARLY GOLDEN VISION

XI. 1804 (aged 29). He studies an Eclipse and paints the Sunset

XII. 1805 (aged 30). He paints 'The Shipwreck' for Fame, and begins a series of 'Delight Studies' for Love

XIII. 1806 (aged 31). The chaos of the 'Hesperides' and the peace of 'Abingdon'

XIV. 1807 (aged 32). He begins the _Liber Studiorum_, and exhibits 'The Sun Rising through Vapour'

XV. 1808 (aged 33). He writes P.P. after his name and paints in a Garden at Hammersmith

XVI. 1809 (aged 34). He exhibits the glowing 'River Scene with Cattle' and refuses to sell 'Bligh Sand'

XVII. 1810 (aged 35). A Quiet Year and an early Golden Vision

PART FOUR (1811-1820)

FROM A JOURNEY TO DEVONSHIRE TO HIS RETURN FROM ITALY

XVIII. 1811 (aged 36). 'Apollo Killing the Python,' and a Picnic

XIX. 1812 (aged 37). He exhibits 'Hannibal Crossing the Alps,' suggested by a Snowstorm he had seen at Farnley

XX. 1813 (aged 38). Hoar Frost at Sunrise that has Vanished from 'A Frosty Morning'

XXI. 1814 (aged 39). He paints more Classical Pictures, turns Author, and is happy at Sandycombe

XXII. 1815 (aged 40). 'A wonderful year,' and a Turnerian Love-Letter

XXIII. 1816 (aged 41). Skies! Skies! Skies!

XXIV. 1817 (aged 42). He sells fifty Water-Colours to Mr. Fawkes of Farnley Hall

XXV. 1818 (aged 43). 'The Abbotsford Turners' and an auction price of a Turner Water-Colour

XXVI. 1819 (aged 44). Turner's First Visit to Italy, and an Exhibition in Grosvenor Place

XXVII. 1820 (aged 45). Return from Italy. He begins to sight his Mystical Visions

PART FIVE (1821-1829)

FROM 'THE BAY OF BAIÆ' TO 'ULYSSES DERIDING POLYPHEMUS'

XXVIII. 1822 (aged 47). He throws off another 'Norham Castle,' and prepares to startle the world with 'The Bay of Baiæ'

XXIX. 1823 (aged 48). 'The Bay of Baiæ': A Critic is critical and a Painter is enthusiastic

XXX. 1824 (aged 49). A Glance at some of _The Rivers of England_ and _Harhours of England_ Water-Colours

XXXI. 1825 (aged 50). A somewhat barren year, commented on in a bitter lament by Ruskin

XXXII. 1826 (aged 51). Another unimportant year, in which he leaves Twickenham

XXXIII. 1827 (aged 52). He paints the Sea in the open, and some Thames-side Pictures

XXXIV. 1828 (aged 53). The Year when Constable described Turner's Visions as 'Golden, Glorious, and Beautiful'

XXXV. 1829 (aged 54). The Year of 'Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus'

PART SIX (1830-1834)

FROM THE 'INTERIOR AT PETWORTH' TO THE PERIOD OF THE 'UNFINISHED' OILS

XXXVI. 1830 (aged 55). He paints the 'Interior at Petworth,' and mourns the death of his Father, and of Sir Thomas Lawrence

XXXVII. 1831 (aged 56). He turns his 'magic limelight' on 'Caligula's Palace and Bridge,' visits Sir Walter Scott, and makes his Will

XXXVIII. 1832 (aged 57). He paints 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,' and is jocular on Varnishing Day

XXXIX. 1833 (aged 58). He paints his first 'Venice' picture, and repurchases some of his own Drawings at Auction

XL. 1834 (aged 59). Some old Stories and some Ageless Colour Studies