The Fighting Temeraire
J.M.W. Turner1839Oil on canvas
Voted the greatest painting in Britain, Turner's elegy for the famous warship being towed to the breakers creates one of the most spectacular sunsets in art. The ghostly white ship against the blazing sky became a symbol of loss and the march of progress.
Color Mood
Incandescently melancholy. Turner's sunset oranges and golds are the most spectacular in Western painting — and here they mourn as much as they celebrate. The white ghost of the old ship makes the blazing color tragic.
National Gallery, London
Primary Colors
The dominant colors that define the overall mood and atmosphere of the work.
Secondary Colors
Supporting colors that add depth, contrast, and visual interest.
Tertiary Colors
Accent and detail colors that complete the composition.
romanticismorangeyellowatmosphericsunset