Emily Beeny of the Museum’s paintings department gave a gallery talk for eager Getty staff to acquaint us with the Museum’s painting by J.M.W. Turner, whose arrival and installation we previously posted about.
You’ll get further acquainted with what we see in the painting, which juxtaposes the grandeurs of Roman architecture with nibbling goats and lounging goatherds. You’ll also explore three facets of Turner’s genius—his handling of light and chromatic effects; his immense knowledge of (and at times pointed rivalry with) the masters of European painting; and his virtuosity, which he showed off with flair on “varnishing day,” a public spectacle at which he not only varnished his paintings, but actually completed and retouched them before a rapt audience. Emily also tells you why the painting is in such outstanding condition, and why this happy state is relatively rare for Turner canvases. And finally, you’ll learn about some of the other Turners in Los Angeles: In addition to the Getty’s second canvas by Turner, Van Tromp, going about to please his Masters, Ships a Sea, getting a Good Wetting, there are pictures at The Huntington and LACMA, too—and even a couple of drawings in our collection that will be on view in July.
Comments on this post are now closed.