Flüelen, from the Lake of Lucerne 1845

J.M.W. Turner made this watercolor of Flüelen, on the Lake of Lucerne, in the first half of the 19th century. Turner was a member of the Royal Academy, and his work reflects the evolving role of art institutions and public taste in Britain at the time. Turner, a Romantic painter, was fascinated by the sublime power of nature. This work captures a moment of dramatic weather in the Swiss Alps, where a storm seems to hover over the town. But it isn't just a depiction of a real place; the landscape is composed to evoke feelings, mirroring the Romantic idea of art as a form of emotional expression. To understand Turner fully, we need to look at the art market, the rise of landscape painting as a genre, and the cultural fascination with travel and the natural world. Art history isn't just about individual genius, it's about how society shapes what we value and how we see the world.