Study Notes on Modernity and Turner

Modernity and Modernism

• Modernity: A historical period originating in the Renaissance, defined by capitalism and colonization.

• Modernism: A sequence of artistic movements ranging from Impressionism up to the mid-(20^{th}) century.

Technological and Environmental Shifts

• Key drivers like the printing press, steam engine, and electricity catalyzed urbanization and the global circulation of capital.

• Industrialization altered the relationship between human labor and the natural environment.

J.M.W. Turner's Representational Change

• Immersion: Shifted from traditional observation to an internal immersion in industrial scenes.

• Aesthetics: Prioritized matter, color, and thermodynamics over classical geometry and lines.

• Artistic Comparisons: Unlike John Constable's scientific clouds or Caspar David Friedrich's theological light, Turner focused on the intermixing of smoke, fire, and elements (e.g., The Snowstorm, (1842)).

History and Political Critique

• Symbolic Events: Captured the transition of British power in Burning of the House of Lords ((1834)) and the shift in naval technology in The Fighting Temeraire ((1839)).

• Slave Ship ((1840)): Serves as a critique of the slave trade and capitalism, linking environmental decay with colonialism and racial exploitation.

Conclusion

• Turner's realism encapsulates the complex interrelations of environment, technology, and human activity during modernity, calling for a broader historical understanding of modern progress.