J. M. W. Turner - putting the railway in the picture
'Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway' is an 1844 painting by British artist J. M. W. Turner, regarded as significant for its evocative depiction of the recently growing railway system – a potent symbol of industrialisation at the time.
The location of the painting itself is Maidenhead Railway Bridge on the Great Western Railway – designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and completed in 1838 – with the view looking east, towards London. Turner had been exploring the River Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead for over 30 years. The painting is on exhibition in London’s National Gallery.
The painting was created towards the end of the Industrial Revolution, which cemented a shift from Britain being an agrarian country to one dominated by mechanised manufacturing. Turner grasped the significance of the relatively new means of transportation as a worthwhile subject of art. He made the painting towards the 1846 height of the Railway Mania – a stock market bubble that resulted in a huge number of schemes for new lines, but with a third of the authorised railways never being actually built.
The picture reflects Turner’s trademark tonal treatment of classical landscapes. It has been interpreted as a celebration of new technological power, with the railway showing the combination of industry and nature. However, some art historians believe that Turner is hinting at the danger of man’s modern technology destroying or competing with cherished elements of nature.
Further reading
- About Rain, Steam and Speed - William Turner website
- Rain, Steam and Speed - The National Gallery
- So Fast, it’s Just a Blur (Rain, Steam and Speed, by J. M. W. Turner) - The Beauty of Transport
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