J.M.W. Turner: Ackroyd's Brief Lives

J.M.W. Turner: Ackroyd's Brief Lives

In this second volume in the Ackroydâ€™s Brief Lives series, bestselling author Peter Ackroyd brings us a man of humble beginnings, crude manners, and prodigious talents, the nineteenth-century painter J. M. W. Turner.

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London in 1775. His father was a barber, and his mother came from a family of London butchers. â€œHis speech was recognizably that of a Cockney, and his language was the language of the streets.â€ As his finest paintings show, his language was also the language of light. Turnerâ€™s landscapesâ€”extraordinary studies in light, colour, and textureâ€”caused an uproar during his lifetime and earned him a place as one of the greatest artists in history.

Displaying his artistic abilities as a young child, Turner entered the Royal Academy of Arts when he was just fourteen years old. A year later his paintings appeared in an important public exhibition, and he rapidly achieved prominence, becoming a Royal Academician in 1802 and Professor of Perspective at the Academy from 1807â€“1837. His private life, however, was less orderly. Never married, he spent much time living in taverns, where he was well known for his truculence and his stinginess with money.

Peter Ackroyd deftly follows Turnerâ€™s first loves of architecture, engraving, and watercolours, and the country houses, cathedrals, and landscapes of England. While his passion for Italy led him to oil painting, Turnerâ€™s love for London remained central to his heart and soul, and it was within sight of his beloved Thames that he died in 1851. His dying words were: â€œThe sun is God.â€

Also available in ACKROYDâ€™S BRIEF LIVES
Chaucer
Country USA
Manufacturer Nan A. Talese
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2007-12-18
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Nan A. Talese
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2007-12-18
Format	Kindle eBook

J.M.W. Turner: Ackroyd's Brief Lives

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