Turner Slave Ship Analysis

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J.M.W Turner's oil painting, The Slave Ship (1840), originally entitled Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and the Dying - Typhoon Coming On, exhibits a poignant guise of beauty while delivering stark realization of human atrocities. Turner's use of light, nature, and color hauntingly presents one of the most prevalent ethical, economic, and cultural issues in history: the Atlantic Slave Trade. Though Turner's perception of slavery may have come from a natural inclination for altruism, his environment influenced his viewpoint, as Britain was one of the first countries to aggressively attack and suppress slavery in the nineteenth century. Regardless of his foundation, his work exhibits elevated moral and intellectual understanding during a …show more content…
Nature asserts its power and impartiality in the form of a turbulent storm; the same waves drowning the captain's slaves would conquer the superior captain as well. As the ship approaches the left edge of the painting, the tranquil waters and cool blue sky intensify into crashing waves and dark overhanging clouds; even the ship will meet imminent death. This concept parallels the end of slavery itself. Turner paired an unfinished poem called "Fallacies of Hope" (1812) with his inspirational painting. Already deteriorating, slavery traveled a futureless path and had little potential for resurgence, as the poem declares "hope, hope, fallacious hope! Where is thy market now?" (Turner). It is especially noteworthy the process of dismantlement heightened during this period. By 1840, slaves initiated numerous uprisings in Jamaica, St. Domingue, Cuba, and the United States; decades earlier, Britain outlawed the Atlantic Slave Trade and instituted the British West Africa Squadron at Sierra Leone to repress illicit smuggling. These momentous occasions were indicative of an ominous storm looming in the distance. The darker concentration of color on the left side of Turner’s painting warns of societal disruption and economic destruction. Turner’s painting demonstrates slavery, represented by the Zong, will struggle to surmount the violent …show more content…
Even the sun’s pronounced light dividing the painting holds substantial importance. The sun’s serene rays delineate God’s interference with unspeakable crimes against humanity. Utilizing light as an emanation of God, Turmer envisioned slavery meeting its end. In the midst of these circumstances, he exhibited his painting at the first World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. His imagery is comparable to another perceptive work also displayed at the convention: Auguste Biard’s Scene on the Coast of Africa. Like Turner’s painting, Biard’s image served to indict proponents of slavery and effectively spark vehement response. Biard illustrated the epitome of oppression: men whipping, branding, and subjugating African slaves. Biard and Turner’s shought-provoking works helped bolster support for the abolition movement.
J.M.W Turner’s The Slave Ship is an exemplary portrayal of a ghastly blemish of world history. Through his depiction of a captain’s endeavor to unscrupulously acquire wealth at the expense of African slaves, Turner accentuates the extent of rapacity political and economic institutions possessed and invokes fear, reproach, and awareness using artful techniques. The Slave Ship is a valuable work of art, providing insight into slavery, avarice, exploitation, and necessary societal
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