As part of the research for Turner and Venice, the new major exhibition at Tate Britain, two oil paintings by J.M.W. Turner previously thought to be views of the Venetian lagoon have been re-identified.
Ian Warrell, curator of the exhibition at Tate Britain asserts in the catalogue to the exhibition that the more likely location for the two views is much closer to home – Portsmouth in Hampshire. As a result the work formerly listed as Festive Lagoon Scene, Venice c1840–5 is now renamed The Arrival of Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth 8 October 1844 c1844–5 and Procession of Boats with Distant Smoke, Venice c1845 is now re-titled The Disembarkation of Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth, 8 October 1844 c1844–5. The two paintings will still be included in the exhibition. (The section of the Turner and Venice catalogue in which Ian Warrell argues for the re-identification of the works is on the second page of this release).
Turner and Venice is the first major exhibition devoted to J.M.W .Turner’s seminal trips to Venice will open at Tate Britain on 9 October. The exhibition, sponsored by Barclays PLC, spans the twenty years between Turner’s first visit to Venice in 1819 and his last in 1840 and will bring together around fifty-five oil paintings, and over one hundred watercolours, as well as prints, maps and Turner’s Venice sketchbooks.
The exhibition is set out as a tour of Turner’s Venice. Beginning with the monumental centre around the Doge’s Palace and the Basilica of San Marco, the succeeding rooms draw the visitor deeper into the city’s topography. This sequence culminates with a series of views of the Lagoon in which the city becomes merely a component part in Turner’s meditations on light, colour and the reflective surfaces of water and stone.
Previous captions:
J.M.W.Turner
Festive Lagoon Scene, Venice c. 1840–45
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
New re-attributed caption:
The Arrival of Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth 8 October 1844 c. 1840–45 Previous captions:
J.M.W.Turner
Procession of Boats with Distant Smoke, Venice c. 1845
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
New re-attributed caption:
The Disembarkation of Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth, 8 October 1844c. 1844-5
The exhibition is curated by Ian Warrell, Collections Curator at Tate. The book Turner and Venice edited by Ian Warrell, published by Tate Publishing Ltd to accompany the exhibition at Tate Britain, is priced £29.99 in paperback.
Call Tate Publishing on 020 7887 8869
Email tgpl@tate.org.uk
Turner and Venice
Sponsored by Barclays PLC
Tate Britain, Linbury Galleries
9 October 2003 – 11 January 2004 (Press View: Tuesday 7 October, 10.00)
Admission £8.50 (concessions £6)
For tickets please call 020 7887 8888
For information please call 020 7887 8008