Ruskin published the first volume of one of his major works, Modern Painters, in 1843. This work argued that modern landscape painters — and in particular J.M.W. Turner — were superior to the so-called "Old Masters" of the post Renaissance period. Such a claim was controversial, especially as Turner's semi-abstract late works were being denounced by some critics as meaningless daubs. Rather than 'going to nature', as Turner did, the old masters, 'composed' or invented their landscapes in their studios. For Ruskin, modern painters like Turner showed a much more profound understanding of nature, observing the 'truths' of water, air, clouds, stones, and vegetation.
Turner’s most rewarding subject became the phases of the sun. In an urban landscape painting like “Mortlake Terrace” the intensity of the sunlight seems to dissolve every other picture element . His critics claimed that he was intoxicated by light, they said he had Yellow Fever. Matisse joked that Turner lived in a cellar in which he was only allowed to open the windows once a week – “and then, what incandescences! What dazzle! What jewels.”
Turner’s most rewarding subject became the phases of the sun. In an urban landscape painting like “Mortlake Terrace” the intensity of the sunlight seems to dissolve every other picture element . His critics claimed that he was intoxicated by light, they said he had Yellow Fever. Matisse joked that Turner lived in a cellar in which he was only allowed to open the windows once a week – “and then, what incandescences! What dazzle! What jewels.”
