Water & Light

‘It is as if you are trying to paint a soul,’ John Ruskin once said, a contemporary of J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), about the ‘fantastic’ and ‘untamed unity’ of the sea. From the renowned Paul Mellon Collection, ten works by Turner, the sublime painter of water, are being shown in Dordrecht for the first time.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the famous painting Dort, or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat from Rotterdam Becalmed. In 1817, Turner visited Dordrecht and was deeply moved by the play of light on the water and the tranquil atmosphere of the harbor. In his art, Turner captured the beauty of picturesque rivers and confronted us with the immense power and dangers of the wild sea. As a painter of modern life during the Industrial Revolution, he recorded both the beauty and potential of water as well as its dangers. He was constantly aware of humanity’s vulnerable position in the face of the powerful nature.

Cover image: Joseph Mallord William Turner, Wreckers-Coast of Northumberland, 1833-1843