Turner (Basic Art)

by Michael Bockemühl

In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame. Appropriately known as “the painter of light,” Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature. This book covers Turner’s illustrious, wide-ranging repertoire to introduce an artist who combined a traditional genre with a radical modernism. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Reference, Art History, British Literature

96 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2002

About the author

Michael Bockemühl (1943–2009) was one of Germany's foremost art historians during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 1990 he became Professor of Art Theory, Aesthetics and Art Education at Witten/Herdecke University, where he taught until his death in 2009. He published numerous influential books and essays on Rembrandt, Turner and a variety of Modern artists

Reviews

[Marjan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving two stars for the excellent reproductions and decent selection of paintings. The text, however, is another matter indeed. For one, it lacks sufficient details on Turner's private and artistic life which would help reader interpret his paintings. Furthermore it focuses almost solely on describing the paintings itself (for what, can't the reader see for him/her-self?). Often the author goes on describing paintings that are not even in the book, but when he actually does write about the ones which are there, it is practically never about the painting that is on the same page as its respectful description, so that the reader has to flip pages over and over again, which makes reading of the book quite a dreadful experience.

So to conclude; yes, it is a book worth having (especially for 12 euros), but it is mostly for the fantastic prints... if one wants to inform oneself on Turner himself, then I advise to choose some other book instead.

[Patrick Sherriff · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the plus side, the book had a good selection of Turner's paintings and you could really see his development from classical painter to someone with a style all his own, ahead of his time by 50 years or so. At least that's what I could tell from looking at the reproductions. Reading the text was a different story. The author seemed keen on telling you what he could see in each painting but referred to paintings on different pages and ones not even in the book, annoyingly. When I worked in newspapers the wisdom was never explain in the words what you can see in the picture, explain what can't be seen. Clearly, Bockemühl disagrees. Still, the pictures are worth gazing at, just ignore the text.

Download my starter library for free here - http://eepurl.com/bFkt0X - and receive my monthly newsletter with my art, book recommendations galore for the Japanophile/crime fiction/English-as-a-foreign-language teacher in all of us.

[Drew Plummer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up for 10$ during the Taschen winter sale and so can't be too upset, but I was a bit underwhelmed.

The book featured a decent selection on JMW Turner's most important work, with Taschen's usual printing quality. The text, however, was a departure from the standard Basic Art series introduction to an artist. Instead what you get is a dense technical analysis of Turner's use of color. Biographical, social, and cultural details are almost completely lacking, as is nearly any analysis or explanation of any aspect of Turner's work other than his use of color. It felt a bit like a recycling of someone's master's thesis, rather than a unique offering and a jumping-off point for further exploration.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal wieder ein Mitbringsel von einem Museumsbesuch. Dieses Mal aus der Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin - meines Wissens nach haben die gar keine Turners. Die hängen so gut wie alle in London in der Tate, wo ich sie mir auch schon angesehen habe. Interessant eigentlich, dass ich darauf so angesprungen bin, denn ich wusste damals nicht, wer Turner überhaupt ist. Maritime Malerei finde tatsächlich recht ansprechend, auch wenn sie nicht so nach Farbexplosion ausschauen, wie bei Turner. Da fällt mir ein -die Dubliner haben es auch sehr mit Schiffen und Schiffahrt. Ich hätte auch schwören können, das die ebenfalls mindestens einen Turner im Museum hätten - laut Quellenangabe im Buch ist das aber wohl nicht der Fall. Ich sollte einfach mal wieder hinfahren und nachschauen. Nur zur Sicherheit.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text of this book is awful, indulging as it does in hyperbolic flights of meaningless cod-philosophy to "explain" what is probably mostly the result of deteriorating eyesight on the part of Turner - and I quit the text at p66. Turner himself, however was a great artist with both oils and water-colours and the pictures reproduced here are a delight.

I don't know but I suspect that there's probably another affordable book about Turner that might show some more useful insight and I'd suggest looking for one before getting a copy of this.

[Molsa Roja(s) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juraria que el primer Turner que vaig veure va ser durant una exposició temporal al MNAC. Me'n vaig enamorar. Hi ha certs tòpics en l'art pictòric, retrat o paisatge, que fan gaudir a l'espectador d'un judici ràpid -com a mínim en el meu cas. Hi ha certs paisatges en què una cau, dels quals una no pot sortir, de la mateixa manera que hi ha mirades que atrapen i persegueixen. Turner no és retratista, i si els seus motius són paisatges, són només una excusa. Turner és el pintor del cel, pintor celestial; el pintor de la llum, el gran Lluminós. Tot quadre de Turner és una invasió de la llum, un excés diví que és regal a l'Home; la llum i el color, en Turner, ho són tot. Culte solar pagà, Turner rondà com un estrany per la vida, i si bé la seva pintura va ser reconeguda com a prodigiosa des d'un principi, sempre es va sentir sol. Les seves excursions per una pintura postromàntica, postfigurativa, no deixen de ser una bogeria a principis i mitjans del segle XIX; el fet és que tot i el seu caràcter enigmàtic, místic, els seus contemporanis no poden deixar de sentir-se meravellats. Si Cézanne va captar, unes dècades més tard, el caràcter pomesc de la poma -com diria Lawrence, com citaria Deleuze-, Turner va captar una sola idea, però gloriosa: la Llum, el Sol. Una se l'imagina posseït pel groc i el vermell, lluitant amb sí mateix per no inundar el quadre de pura Llum, per no deixar-nos cecs. Dickinson deia que "Hamlet va dubtar per tots nosaltres"; jo dic que tota l'obra de Turner consisteix en portar-nos la Llum, com un nou Prometeu, en fer-nos sentir la llum pura.

El llibre, l'anàlisi de Bockemühl no està a l'alçada del pintor -però una es pregunta quin llibre ho podria estar. Tot i això, les reproduccions són d'alta qualitat, i han estat ben seleccionades.

[Sherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing book, the plates were not too bad but the text was awful. Nothing about Turner's life, just very complicated and quite boring text about the paintings, which didn't correspond to the ones in the book.

[Stephen Rötzsch Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed so much my first of Taschen's Basic Art series that I dove straight into this. It was a very different beast, though. Whilst Matthias Arnold's book on Toulouse-Lautrec was a readable introduction to the artist that paired art criticism with personal history and gave vital context to the work, Bockemuhl focused almost entirely on the former element.

The book is written far too academically for an access point, and neglects the artist's history and personality. Whether it's down to Bockemuhl's scatty narrative or poor editing, the essay frequently refers in depth to artworks that are either not in the book at all, or printed some 10-15 pages away. It's a horribly impractical way to print an art history book - paired with the unnecessarily wordy prose, it's a real disappointment.

Two stars, because the art remains unparalleled. Turner might attract particularly stuffy interpretations, but he's still one of the most unique and moving artists I've ever encountered.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book back when I was still silly and in love with my awful ex. Turner was his favorite artist, and I wanted to get into his mind (my ex's mind, that is) so I threw myself into this book enthusiastically.

It's been a little over a month and I'm older, wiser, and completely over that jerk. Turner, on the other hand, I am just starting to appreciate. For someone who didn't really engage with his paintings before, this was a very good book for me. It had high quality reproductions with some detailed analysis of his use of color and composition. I enjoyed it immensely.

[Valérie · Rating 4 out of 5]

« L’épouvante a ses limites, mais Turner les a ignorées. »
It was a pleasure to rediscover Joseph Mallord William Turner’s work through this short book, as he’s one of the most notable Romantic painters (and one of my favourite English painters). Without going profoundly into the details, this book is filled with interesting pieces of information about Turner’s life and it provides an analysis of some of his major paintings.

[D.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit more technical than I was expecting but I love Turner and this gave me some new insights about his paintings and style. Too bad I already went to London this year (a good chunk of his work is at Tate and the National Gallery as can be expected ) because I'd have enjoyed seeing those paintings with new eyes.

[Jason Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are nice for reference, but lack enough quality to examine the details of his paintings. Granted, Turner's paintings are typically large scale with a lot of textures, making photographic reproduction nearly impossible.

As for the commentary, it did not really match will with the layout and lacked sizzle. For such a dynamic and influential painter the text was very dry and drab.

[Kristian-Alberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love Turner. However it took me a few months to finish this introduction. Not sure why. Perhaps it's too technical. Perhaps I am less interested in colours than I thought. Perhaps the point with Turner is to experience his colours, not to study them. Don't know, the book drags along. A nice book to see some of Turner's works, but as an introduction it seems a bit dry, a bit boring.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turner is not my favorite painter, though many of his pieces are stunning and beautiful, but all too many have the feel of observing a scene through the fog of some strange deadly gas, like a mustard cloud on a battlefield as the sun is setting. The author states that one must see the paintings in person to really appreciate their colors. I can believe it. Still, I like better a clearer, less modernist, interpretation of the scene depicted. Even the authorities are unsure of what to title some of his works. Still, I can imagine myself being captivated by some, the colors mixing and difracting like light passing through clouds clouds at dusk.

[Quiver · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I did not paint it to be understood, but I wished to show what such a scene was like; I got the sailors to lash me to the mast to observe it; I was lashed for four hours, and I did not expect to escape, but I felt bound to record it if I did."

Four stars for the book's reproductions and layout; less for the text which didn't enchant or teach much. Still, worth seeing Turner's atmospheric touch light up the pages.

[Malcolm · Rating 2 out of 5]

JMW Turner was among the best of the romantic painters. The way light plays out across his canvases is stunning. It's a shame they picked this essay to showcase it.

Turner's paintings are beautifully rendered here and it runs the full spectrum of Turner's work. We have barebones experiments showing him playing with colors as well as full, beautiful renderings of his most famous works. The art is showcased well, it's the text that lets me down.

Bockemuhl's essay is obsessed with color. Not what it can inform us about the intent behind the paintings but just how much Turner learned from Goethe's essay on colors. Bockemuhl will tell us what colors Turner used and how they form gradients across the canvas and how they work with the other colors of the painting. But he won't tell us why *that* particular color was chosen or what is intended to confer.

It is a blunt example of not being able to see the forest for the trees.

It's dull. Yep. He used some oranges and yellows for a sunrise. Image that. Well spotted, Michael. And it's so frustrating because so many of the pieces specifically showcased have so much to offer. The image of a steam tugboat pulling the Temeraire in to port to be scuttled is breath taking. We're seeing the industrial revolution in action. The new era literally replacing the old. The famous Temeraire which fought alongside Nelson at Trafalgar is being decommissioned and not even sailing in to her fate under her own power, she's being towed. The blazing sun on the horizon shows us that the sun is setting on an era, or rising to look upon a new one. But Bockemuhl just wants to talk shop about the colors. It's a beautiful reflection effect. I get that. And this essay might be very useful for graduate art students studying that level of the painting but for a layperson? It's boring.

He also showcases Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, one of Turner's most powerful works. He contrasts the sun in both but focuses on the colors used. Not on how the sun in Slavers looks angry, as though god himself were furious at what is happening. The history the painting portrays is barely even touched on. It was one of the most breath-takingly cruel and inhuman acts of the Atlantic slave trade which, given the baseline level of horror this already entailed, is saying something. Disease has broken out below decks on a slave ship. With the human cargo packed so densely it spread like wildfire. The shipment is insured but only for losses at sea, not dead on arrival. So the captain orders all of the human beings below decks to be thrown overboard. Bockemuhl says nothing of this. How in Turner's picture the swarming fish and the writhing limbs and the angry waters combine to tell us the story of a crime committed which nature itself reviled. It's all about the colors of the sun, nothing for the dense carpet of hands breaking the surface, of people desperately trying to stay afloat while being dragged under by the weight of their shackles. It's a powerful painting and to look on it and to realize what is being shown to you is to be shaken to your core. Nations were built on the same cruelty that caused this incident.

Taschen books are introductory. They showcase the artists and their careers. Bockemuhl's essay was a terrible choice for this book as it skips over the powerful images to talk about color theory and Goethe. Show me the power of art, save the lectures on color use for graduate art classes unless you're going to tell me what the colors make you feel.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this for the painting reproductions, and, on that front, it doesn’t disappoint. I love, love, love looking at these works. The accompanying text, however, is not my favorite. The register is highly academic, and we don’t get much biography or history to help orient ourselves. Towards the end it got better, more helpful, but I was not the biggest fan of Prof. Bockemühl’s text. I must admit though, the sections about Turner’s later work, how the colors work together, how he achieves a sense of perpetual renewal, is very helpful. I think he simply assumes too much prior knowledge from the reader in a book destined for as wide an audience as this.

Definitely worth the purchase, especially during the annual sale (when I got my copy), but probably you will need to supplement with Wikipedia or another text.

[Tony Foxhoven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better than his Rembrandt book, but the text was quite frankly boring. I would have loved more information on the life of the artist and what his thoughts were (he was a Prof at the Academy, so he def had thoughts).... there are bits and pieces of that but similar to the Rembrandt book it felt more like an academic study on how to look at certain paintings

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

spoiler alert: Turner died on my birthday 😅

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of a very few artists I will take the time to go and see.

[Dave Donahoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting study of the artwork of one of my favorite artists

[David Montero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peace for the soul . Love Turner's work

[Natasha Nikochevski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prints are wonderful but the text is utterly horrendous. The author is trying a bit too hard to conceive philosophical ideas out of thin air.

[Jessada Karnjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

ชอบซีรีส์นี้ของ TASCHEN คุณภาพการพิมพ์ดีเยี่ยม บทความประกอบก็สุดยอด ... เทอร์นเน่อร์ เจ้าแห่งแสง-สี

[Ясен В. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turner is an incredible artist, but for some reason I did not enjoy the text accompanying the pictures.

2.4/5

[Bruno Laschet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gute Zusammenfassung des Lebens und der Werke von H.M.W. Turner. Die Taschen-Kunstbücher sind günstig und gut. Sehr gute Auswahl der besprochenen Bilder und guter Druck.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable with good reproductions- but much of it is written from a strangely uninspired liberal arts perspective. I give it three stars since I am not a serious art person and the text is typical liberal arts blah blah blah- but to someone who is more involved in the Art scene and more familiar with Goethe's theory of color, it would probably be more enjoyable. This is mostly about the paintings and the meaning of colors- but is not very good as a biography. At the end you don't really know what Turner paintings are really about except color... With that being said, the reproductions are very nice though even this can be frustrating... sometimes the texts refer to pictures thirty pages away, so you are constantly shifting back and forth between the text and other parts of the book.

[Cristhian Jaramillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The most sublime thing cannot exist without the element of mistery".

"The overall tenor is that of the sceptic's pessimism: seeing through theses vains "fallacies of hope", he knows how every pursuit of higher things will end".

A great analysis of Turner's prolific work, but with a clear limitation: there is a lack of biographical information and only focuses on theory.

Overall, it's a good read and beautifully made.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turner is a magnificent artist. The commentary was more muddled and incomprehensible than Turner's late work (which I truly admire).

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turner, impressionist avant la lettre. Prachtige schilderijen. De tekst leest wat 'stroef'.