From medieval times, artists around the world have expressed themselves through various artworks. Paintings and sculptures are amongst the multiple artworks created by artists over the years. Various artworks belong to different art periods, such as renaissance, baroque, or impressionist, depending on the year that the artwork was created. Visiting The National Gallery Museum in London has been my longtime dream. Taking a virtual tour of the museum brought me close to the realization of that dream. Through the virtual tour, I was able to explore various artworks exhibited. Two paintings caught my attention during the tour, the Stonemason’s Yard and the Fighting Temeraire. Different details and descriptions of these artworks are presented in the subsequent paragraphs.
The Stonemason’s Yard is the title of the artwork prepared by Canaletto. The date that the artwork was made is estimated to be in the late 1720s, about 1725 The National Gallery, n.d.). Thus, the painting belongs to the baroque art period. The painting was made using oil on canvas. The painting measures 123.8 x 162.9 cm (The National Gallery, n.d). The painting depicts a site in the city of Venice in Italy in a weather-beaten and neglected state. From the painting, masons can be seen working on their stones. A mother is depicted moving to console her sobbing child while another woman overlooks from the balcony. The painting depicts a workshop in which materials are being prepared as ongoing repairs are done at the San Vidal church (The National Gallery, n.d.). Across the Grand Canal, the Saint Maria della Carità church and its bell tower can be seen. His depiction of the different materials such as stones, the wearing off plaster in a manner confusable to the real objects shows his finesse.
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Canaletto’s role in his society can be described as that of clearly depicting the everyday events in his community (Canal and Russel, 2016). Tourists found his paintings to be quite appealing (The National Gallery, n.d.). He also captured the topographies of the city of Venice vividly. In England, his paintings are said to have inspired future landscapists (The Art Story, n.d.). Canaletto’s message in the Stonemason’s Yard painting is to reveal the architectural designs used in that period and the everyday lives of the people. The Stonemason’s Yard artwork bears the cultural significance of preserving the historical details of Venice as they existed at the time. Some of the historical elements depicted in the artwork include the church of San Vidal, the Grand Canal, the Saint Maria della Carità church. The Saint Maria della Carità church is a medieval church that had been rehabilitated in the 1440s (Canal and Russel, 2016).
The Fighting Temeraire is the title of an artwork done by Joseph Mallord William Turner in 1839 (The National Gallery, n.d.). The painting was prepared using oil on canvas. The painting measures 90.7 x 121.6 cm. The painting depicts a warship, Temeraire, being towed by a dark small tug boat. The Temeraire is painted in a pale color and "lost of life.” In the painting, Turner captures a splendid sunset. The Temeraire had played a significant role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (The National Gallery, n.d.). In 1838, having aged, it was towed across the Thames River to Rotherhithe in London to be disintegrated. Although the scene captured by Turner is a bit different from the actual events such as there being no sunset, it imaginatively depicts the “death” of Temeraire (Art Gallery, n.d.). The steam age in ships had overtaken the age of sail to which Temeraire belonged (The National Gallery, n.d.).
Turner’s role in his community can be described as inspirational. Through his Romantic paintings, Turner inspired later day artists such as Monet and Pissaro (Khan Academy, n.d.). Turner’s message in Temeraire’s painting is symbolic. The artist passes the message that glorious days have an end. Thus, human beings should make the best use of their time before their sun sets. The painting holds the cultural significance of preserving Britain's history of the success that they had in the military battles held in these periods (Fox, n.d.). The artwork depicts a major historic element in Britain, the Temeraire, a warship used in the Battle of Trafalgar to give a resounding success.
Pieces of artwork do not merely depict creativity; they also document the details of historical events. The art pieces enable the preservation of these historical details, as evidenced by the Canaletto and Turner’s paintings.
The Stonemason’s Yard. Source: The National Gallery
The Fighting Temeraire. Source: The National Gallery
References
Art Gallery. The Story Behind The Fighting Temeraire | ArtGallery.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://artgallery.co.uk/the-story-behind-the-fighting-temeraire
Canal, G., & Russel, P. (2016). Delphi Collected Works of Canaletto (Illustrated) (1st ed.). Hastings, United Kingdom: Delphi Classics.
Fox, E. Turner, The Fighting Temeraire (article) | Khan Academy. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/england-constable-turner/a/turner-the-fighting-temeraire
Khan Academy. Who is JMW Turner? (article) | Romanticism | Khan Academy. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/england-constable-turner/a/who-is-jmw-turner
The Art Story. Canaletto Paintings, Bio, Ideas. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/canaletto/
The National Gallery. Canaletto (1697 - 1768) | National Gallery, London. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/canaletto
The National Gallery. Canaletto (1697 - 1768) | National Gallery, London. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/canaletto
The National Gallery. Canaletto | The Stonemason's Yard | NG127 | National Gallery, London . Nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/canaletto-the-stonemasons-yard .
The National Gallery. Joseph Mallord William Turner | The Fighting Temeraire | NG524 | National Gallery, London . Nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-fighting-temeraire .
