Sunday, February 07, 2010

heading to New Orleans

The above Turner is heading to New Orleans from the Indianapolis Museum of Art as tribute for the Saints Super Bowl victory tonight. Tyler Green take a bow.
from the IMA:

The Fifth Plague of Egypt
Artist Turner, Joseph Mallord William
nationality British
birth-death April 23, 1775-December 19, 1851
Creation date 1800
Materials oil on canvas
Dimensions 48 x 72 in.
Location Charles O. McGaughey Gallery
Credit line Gift in memory of Evan F. Lilly
Accession number 55.24
Gallery Label

This dark, tempestuous painting marks the rise of Turner as a full-fledged Romantic painter. Relying on vast scale, dynamic movement, and dramatic subject, his composition appeals primarily to the emotions to communicate its message. Turner's motive for painting this canvas, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1800, may have been a desire to impress British critics and viewers with his ability to handle serious themes. However, it does appear that the young painter mistitled his picture, as this canvas actually depicts the seventh plague of Egypt, when Moses stretched his arms toward heaven, and thunder, hail and fire rained on the pharaoh and his people.

Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection (2005)



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