Turner
The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J. M. W. Turner
1st Edition
Published on 7. July 2016
512 pages
978-0-241-96455-2 (ISBN)
Description
The man behind the paintings: the extraordinary life of J. M. W Turner, one of Britain's most admired, misunderstood and celebrated artists
J. M. W. Turner is Britain's most famous landscape painter. Yet beyond his artistic achievements, little is known of the man himself and the events of his life: the tragic committal of his mother to a lunatic asylum, the personal sacrifices he made to effect his stratospheric rise, and the bizarre double life he chose to lead in the last years of his life.
A near mythical figure in his own lifetime, Franny Moyle tells the story of the man who was considered visionary at best and ludicrous at worst. A resolute adventurer, he found new ways of revealing Britain to the British, astounding his audience with his invention and intelligence.
Set against the backdrop of the finest homes in Britain, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, this is an astonishing portrait of one of the most important figures in Western art and a vivid evocation of Britain and Europe in flux.
J. M. W. Turner is Britain's most famous landscape painter. Yet beyond his artistic achievements, little is known of the man himself and the events of his life: the tragic committal of his mother to a lunatic asylum, the personal sacrifices he made to effect his stratospheric rise, and the bizarre double life he chose to lead in the last years of his life.
A near mythical figure in his own lifetime, Franny Moyle tells the story of the man who was considered visionary at best and ludicrous at worst. A resolute adventurer, he found new ways of revealing Britain to the British, astounding his audience with his invention and intelligence.
Set against the backdrop of the finest homes in Britain, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, this is an astonishing portrait of one of the most important figures in Western art and a vivid evocation of Britain and Europe in flux.
Reviews / Votes
Moyle's superb biography rigorously tackles the myths surrounding Turner's life and presents a vivid portrait of a man whose ideas and behaviour were rooted in the 18th century - and whose work is too often taken out of context * Mail on Sunday * An exemplary work . . . Moyle is especially good at delineating Turner's artistic methods and her enthralling account is filled with an impressive understanding of his unique talent -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times * A thorough, balanced and wonderfully fluent account. Franny Moyle [is] one of the best in the long line of [Turner's] biographers -- Michael Prodger * Times * Fresh and lively . . . Turner's life is given a vivid colour and depth as Moyle deftly interweaves his professional career with his private life -- Jenny Uglow * BBC History Magazine * Elegant and thorough . . . This is a biography that leaves you with a fresh impression of both Turner and his time. It frees its subjects from myth, and imbues them with the quality of wonder -- Matthew Adams * I News * Moyle is good on Turner's momentous times, interweaving history, the history of art and the public's attitude toward art. -- Claudia Fitzherbert * Telegraph * Franny Moyle tells a compelling story of a self-taught prodigy... A restless painter who always sought new forms of expression in watercolour and oils. Moyle is an unpretentious art historian, and she has written an inviting and easily digested biography of the best of British painters -- Stephen Fay * Economist * Of the two recent books on Turner, Moyle's is the more satisfying, not least because it allows for the intimacy of reading. Less is more when it comes to biography - and Moyle gives Turner's restless life a perspective and a frame -- Frances Wilson * New Statesman * Moyle's art-historical perceptions make this detailed and beautifully balanced biography a compelling read... Turner emerges from it larger... revealed as a man of his moment -- Brian Morton * Scottish Herald * The words on the page offer views every bit as captivating as Turner's ageless panoramas * Big Issue *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
24 pp colour, 16 pp black and white
File size
121,20 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-241-96455-2 (9780241964552)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2017
Penguin Books Ltd
€19.00
Article in reprint
Book
07/2016
Viking
€50.95
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
Franny Moyle studied Art History at St John's College, Cambridge. She enjoyed a career in arts programming at the BBC that culminated in her becoming the corporation's first Commissioner for Arts and Culture. She is now a freelance executive producer and writer and lives in east London. She is the author of Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde and Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites.
