Two essays written by historians at the University of Nottingham, Ross Balzaretti and David Laven, have recently been published on the website of Tate Britain. They both put into wider historical context the works of J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851).
‘Travelling in Italy during Turner’s Lifetime’ (by Ross Balzaretti, Pietro Piana and Charles Watkins) investigates the large number of British travellers who travelled to Italy in search of health, education and, increasingly, leisure during Turner’s lifetime.
Like Turner, travellers recorded their observations in journals and diaries, and some turned their experiences into printed books and guidebooks. This essay, which draws in part on manuscripts held by Manuscripts and Special Collections at King’s Meadow, examines this material and provides a vivid insight into the rich environment that shaped Turner’s artistic development.
‘The British Idea of Italy in the Age of Turner’ (by David Laven) surveys a broad range of early 19th-century texts – including travel guidebooks, plays, poems and personal letters – to reveal how the observations and opinions of influential figures such as Lord Byron, Ugo Foscolo and Lady Morgan filtered into the British imagination and shaped views of Italy’s history, culture and politics.
Posted on Wednesday 11th November 2015