The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2024 - Issue 36

biteartist Jessica Warboys. These artists individually engaged with the exact themes that preoccupied Turner’s light, nature, and sublime but in a modern context, responding to the environ- mental and technological changes of the 21st century. His 1844 oil painting, Venice: Maria della Salute, captures Venice’s ethereal beauty, which the artist visited multiple times during his career. The city was particularly fascinating for Turner; his works depicting Venice are considered among his most luminous and atmospheric. In the painting, he de- picts the iconic Santa Maria della Salute church bathed in a golden, almost mystical light. The reflections of the church’s domes shimmer on the water, blurring the lines between the sky, the city, and the sea. The painting is not a detailed archi- tectural rendering but a poetic vision of Venice, where water and light merge in a dance of colour and form. Turner’s use of light in this painting is masterful, creating a sense of serenity and timelessness, as though the city is floating in a dreamlike state. It captivates Turner’s ability to evoke the sublime through tranquillity. The scene is peace- ful yet hints at something much deeper — the fragility of a city constantly at the mercy of the elements. The shimmer- ing light, while beautiful, also suggests the impermanence of the moment, a theme that runs throughout the artist’s work. For Turner, light was a visual element and a metaphor for life, time, and the divine. Contemporary artist Olafur Eliasson offered The Glacier Melt Series (1999/2019), a photographic project that documents the dramatic impact of climate change on Iceland’s glaciers. Much like Turner’s, Eliasson’s work is concerned with the sub- lime forces of nature, but his message is more urgent. Where Turner sees beauty in nature’s power, Eliasson sees a fragile world in peril, drawing attention to the environmental crises that threaten the landscapes Turner so lovingly portrays. In stark contrast to the serene beauty of Venice: Maria del- la Salute is Turner’s Breakers on a Flat Beach (1835-40), a painting that captures the raw, untamed power of the sea. Seascapes account for more than half of Turner’s oeuvre, and in these works, he often depicted the ocean as a force to be reckoned with —dangerous, unpredictable, and sublime in its power. This painting is a perfect example of the artist’s ability to convey the overwhelming might of nature. It shows waves crashing against a flat, barren beach, their white crests illu- minated by a pale, almost ghostly light. The sky is filled with heavy clouds, suggesting an impending storm. Turner’s use of light and colour in this painting is particularly striking. The pale, almost monochromatic palette enhances the feeling of desolation and awe, as though the viewer is standing on the world’s edge, witnessing the element’s relentless power. Venice: Maria della Salute