“Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway” by J. M. W. Turner

Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway by J. M. W. Turner depicts an early British steam train on a railway bridge, crossing the River Thames with a view that is looking east towards London.

The Great Western Railway, as referred to in the title, was one of several private British railway companies created to develop what was a new means of transport.

Art historians have suggested that Turner, in this painting, is hinting at the danger of man’s modern technology destroying or competing with elements of nature.

The bridge in the painting is Maidenhead Railway Bridge, across the River Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead. The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and completed in 1838.

To the left in the painting in this is yet another bridge. In the river between the bridges is a small boat with two figures. There is also a farmer with two horses in the field to the right.

These details are not initially apparent without close inspection, as the focus is on the steam engine, and all the other features are painted are in a ghostly outline to emphasize a speeding viewpoint.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, later more commonly called J. M. W. Turner, entered the Royal Academy of Art in 1789, aged 14, and his first watercolor was accepted for the Royal Academy summer exhibition of 1790 when Turner was 15.

From a young art student trained in executing topographical watercolors, he became one of the most original artists of his time.

Turner was a Romantic painter, printmaker, and watercolorist, today known for his vivid coloration, imaginative landscapes, and turbulent marine paintings.

As a private, eccentric, and reclusive figure, Turner was controversial throughout his career. He left over 2,000 paintings and 19,000 drawings and sketches.

Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway

Title: Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway
Artist: J. M. W. Turner
Date: 1844
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 91 cm × 121.8 cm (36 in × 48.0 in)
Museum: The National Gallery, London

Joseph Mallord William Turner

Name: Joseph Mallord William Turner
Born: 1775 – Covent Garden, London, England
Died: 1851 (aged 76) – Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, England
Nationality: English
Movement: Romanticism
Notable works:
- The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
- The Fighting Temeraire
- Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino
- The Burning of the Houses of Parliament
- Newport Castle
- The Grand Canal, Venice
- Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway
- Dido Building Carthage
- Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth
- The Slave Ship
- Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps

Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway by J. M. W. Turner

18th Century Paintings – The National Gallery

“Bacchus and Ariadne” by Sebastiano Ricci – 1713
“A Regatta on the Grand Canal” by Canaletto – 1740
“Mr. and Mrs. Andrews” by Thomas Gainsborough – 1749
“Eton College” by Canaletto – 1754
“An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump” by Joseph Wright of Derby – 1768
“Self-portrait in a Straw Hat” by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun – 1782

Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway by J. M. W. Turner

19th Century Paintings – The National Gallery

“The Emperor Napoleon I” by Horace Vernet – 1815
“Dido Building Carthage” by J. M. W. Turner – 1815
“Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows” by John Constable – 1831
“The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Paul Delaroche – 1833
“The Fighting Temeraire” by Joseph Mallord William Turner – 1839
“Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway” by J. M. W. Turner – 1844
“Cimabue’s Celebrated Madonna is carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence” by Frederic Leighton – 1855
“Madame Moitessier” by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres– 1856
“The Gare St-Lazare” by Claude Monet – 1877
“Bathers at Asnières” by Georges Seurat – 1884
“Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh – 1888
“After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself” by Edgar Degas – 1895
“Boulevard Montmartre at Night” by Camille Pissarro – 1898