Rain, Steam and Speed

Rain, steam and speed, painting by William Turner, 1844 London

Turner’s visionary, late landscapes depict the elements as expression of the sublime and powerful forces of nature. Mankind and its works are totally submitted to the violence of nature, every attempt to change the world is doomed to fail. The pessimistic worldview of Turner and putting nature and technology as opposites are made very clear in this painting. The railroad is veiled by steam and water and appears as a playground for nature. The atmospheric solution of things produces a diffuse light that makes the colour to the actual support of the significance. Turner manages to make a bridge to the desire for autonomy of modernism.