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welovepaintings:

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)
The Fighting ‘Téméraire’
Oil on canvas
1838
National Gallery (London, United Kingdom)

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“The painting was thought to represent the decline of Britain’s naval power. The ‘Temeraire’ is shown travelling east, away from the sunset, even though Rotherhithe is west of Sheerness, but Turner’s main concern was to evoke a sense of loss, rather than to give an exact recording of the event. The spectacularly colourful setting of the sun draws a parallel with the passing of the old warship. By contrast the new steam-powered tug is smaller and more prosaic.”

Nationalgallery.org.uk