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How Turner painted : materials & techniques / Joyce H. Townsend.

By: Contributor(s): Publication details: London : Thames & Hudson, 2019.Description: 168 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 9780500294833
Other title:
  • How Turner painted : Materials and techniques
Subject(s):
Contents:
Foreword / Nicola Moorby
Introduction: An artist ahead of his time
1. Innovative ways of using watercolour.
2. Making oil paint do everything Turner wanted: Modified paint media.
3. Finished paintings and 'Varnishing days'.
4. Turner's toolkit: Processes for creating a composition.
5. Paintboxes, palettes and colours in an industrial age.
6. Working like Turner: A contemporary artist's perspective / Tony Smibert.
7. Changes in appearance with time: Appreciating Turner today.
Summary: This authoritative visual guide to the artistic materials and painting techniques of J. M. W. Turner brings to life the skills of one of the world's greatest artists. Details of his watercolours and oil paintings, usually only available to small numbers of museum professionals, and an experienced artist's recreation of his core painting processes, combine with in-depth research into Turner's use of new materials to give unique insights into his creative processes. ''How Turner Painted' brings new research and understanding to the subject since the publication of the author's earlier book 'Turner's Painting Techniques' (1993). Joyce Townsend, senior conservation scientist at Tate, which houses the majority of Turner's work and is a centre of expertise on the artist, has revisited, updated and continued the examination of his innovative use of materials and early adoption of new colours. Comparisons are drawn across oil painting and watercolour to illustrate how Turner built up an image, and what his numerous unfinished works can tell us about his working methods. With a foreword by art historian Nicola Moorby and a chapter contributed by artist Tony Smibert, the book will coincide with two major new exhibitions planned for 2020, at Tate Britain and at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Tasmania.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 156-158) and index.

Foreword / Nicola Moorby

Introduction: An artist ahead of his time

1. Innovative ways of using watercolour.

2. Making oil paint do everything Turner wanted: Modified paint media.

3. Finished paintings and 'Varnishing days'.

4. Turner's toolkit: Processes for creating a composition.

5. Paintboxes, palettes and colours in an industrial age.

6. Working like Turner: A contemporary artist's perspective / Tony Smibert.

7. Changes in appearance with time: Appreciating Turner today.

This authoritative visual guide to the artistic materials and painting techniques of J. M. W. Turner brings to life the skills of one of the world's greatest artists. Details of his watercolours and oil paintings, usually only available to small numbers of museum professionals, and an experienced artist's recreation of his core painting processes, combine with in-depth research into Turner's use of new materials to give unique insights into his creative processes. ''How Turner Painted' brings new research and understanding to the subject since the publication of the author's earlier book 'Turner's Painting Techniques' (1993). Joyce Townsend, senior conservation scientist at Tate, which houses the majority of Turner's work and is a centre of expertise on the artist, has revisited, updated and continued the examination of his innovative use of materials and early adoption of new colours. Comparisons are drawn across oil painting and watercolour to illustrate how Turner built up an image, and what his numerous unfinished works can tell us about his working methods. With a foreword by art historian Nicola Moorby and a chapter contributed by artist Tony Smibert, the book will coincide with two major new exhibitions planned for 2020, at Tate Britain and at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Tasmania.