An artwork on Galleree from Yale Center for British Art.
About the artwork
Creator: Joseph Mallord William TurnerTitle: Dort or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat from Rotterdam Becalmed [1818, Royal Academy of Arts, London, exhibition catalogue]
Date: 1818
Materials & Techniques: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:62 × 92 inches (157.5 × 233.7 cm), Frame: 73 × 102 × 5 inches (185.4 × 259.1 × 12.7 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Signed and dated, lower right: "JMW Turner RA 1818"
Inscribed, lower right: "Dort"
Credit Line: Yale Center for British Art, Paul
J. M.W. Turner made his second Continental tour in 1817 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and passed through Dordrecht on his way home. This view, one of Turner’s masterpieces, was painted after his return to London in December 1817 and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in April 1818. The Swan, a packet boat from Rotterdam, is traveling down the river Meuse towards Dordrecht and is being provisioned by passing boats while it is becalmed. A vision of peaceful serenity, the picture contrasted with Turner’s other exhibit that year, a view of the bloody battlefield of Waterloo by moonlight. In Dort, Turner was emulating the celebrated Dutch painter Aelbert Cuyp (1620–1691), whose work was avidly collected by British connoisseurs. The painting’s extraordinary luminosity and brightness of color dazzled the critics, one claiming it was “one of the most magnificent pictures ever exhibited.” John Constable was probably referring to this picture when, many years later, he remembered it as “the most complete work of genius I ever saw.”
About the artist
Founded by Paul Mellon (Yale College, Class of 1929), the Yale Center for British Art is the largest museum outside of the United Kingdom devoted to British art. Located in the final building designed by Louis I. Kahn, the YCBA is a focal point for modernist architecture. It is free and open to all.The artwork posted on this site is through the museum's public domain/CC0 data and does not imply endorsement.
Address: 1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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