The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 

One of the most famous paintings in The National Gallery, ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ is an 1839 oil painting by the English Romantic artist J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). The work depicts a warship, Temeraire, as she is tugged along the River Thames to a scrapyard. 🗑️ For Turner, the Temeraire was a symbol of patriotism and heroism. Having played a key role in Napoleon’s victory at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, the ship was once magnificent. By 1839, however, she was unable to sail independently. Although the Temeraire was painted black in reality, Turner renders the ship in shades of ghostly white. When coupled with the symbolic sunset which dominates the right side of the composition, ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ can be perceived as an image of death and finality. Turner has creatively invented these details for maximum visual impact: the actual final journey of the Temeraire occurred during early afternoon, not at sunset. 🌅 J.M.W. Turner is to this day renowned for his skilful handling of light and colour to capture natural skylines. Here, the golden and fiery sunset communicates a sense of inevitability. Could Turner be suggesting the death of the age of sail, to be replaced with modern industrial modes of transport? Zoom into the tugboat which guides the Temeraire along the glassy water. Turner has emphasised the black smoke which viciously belches from the funnel. The juxtaposition of the black smoke against the skeletal paleness of the Temeraire creates a sense of opposition. Here, the old and the new collide, as modernity overtakes tradition. 🪦 The artist kept this painting in his own collection until his death in 1851. This suggests that ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ bore personal as well as historical weight. It remains a haunting and poignant representation of loss and transformation for millions of viewers each year. What do you think of the work? 💭👇 Editor: Lucy Jude Grantham