The Slave Ship, By J. M. W. Turner

The renowned piece Slave Ship by J.M.W Turner was viewed by critics as a ‘kitchen accident’ and over the top (Simon Schama's Power of art). This painting represented slaves killed at sea. The intentions of this were to make viewers weep, but was actually viewed as absurd. (Simon Schama's Power of art). Turner was viewed as mad, yet created the greatest British painting in the 19th century. Starting at a young age, Turner created sublime paintings that represented British and French issues and incredible imagination. This painting was based off the factual event of 132 African Americans being thrown overboard into shark waters of the Caribbean. The slave trade had become a great problem of Britain, creating a movement that influenced this painting. The Slave Ship shows us such terror and sin.
If you look closely you can see monsters in the sea. This image can be hard to view with its blurry appearance. It portrays such struggle and fight in the water. Slaves drowning and being swallowed up by the sea. Turner attempts to catch his viewer’s attention with the various hues and intensity and rage. The opening canal down the center of the image creates a feeling of something powerful beyond measure, as if a hand is opening up the waters. Defeating slavery and sin is apparent in this image. The patch of blue at the top right signifies a sense of hope. Turner has given us a feeling of freedom in the way he paints the brush strokes and colors, freedom being conveyed as the powerful message. Though he was written off as a senile lunatic, he changed British art and dared to paint images that no other conformist ever