The Slave Ship

The Slave Ship is an excellent painting from one of my own personal favorite eras in art: the Enlightenment Era. Painted by J.M.W. Turner and exhibited first in 1840 it didn't draw much attention then because of its detraction from the norm. The broad strokes and impressionistic influences did not fit in well in a time when realism was a more accepted style.

I enjoy The Slave Ship because of the vibrance of the colors and the raw emotion it conveys. When closely examined it is truly a disturbing piece showing death and turmoil at it's most brutal degree of near inhumanity. The bright orange and yellow sunset offsets the icy blue of the waves to the left and the neutral browns and reds of death and rot in the bottom right from the slaves that were thrown overboard.

This piece speaks to the oncoming struggle of the time and the advent of the Civil War.