Skip to main content

Joseph Mallord William Turner, 'The Fighting Temeraire', 1839

About the work

Overview

Turner’s painting shows the final journey of the Temeraire, as the ship is towed from Sheerness in Kent along the river Thames to Rotherhithe in south-east London, where it was to be scrapped. The veteran warship had played a distinguished role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, but by 1838 was over 40 years old and had been sold off by the Admiralty. When exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1839, the painting was accompanied by lines Turner had adapted from Thomas Campbell’s poem, Ye Mariners of England: ‘The flag which braved the battle and the breeze, / No longer owns her.’

It is unlikely that Turner witnessed the ship being towed; instead, he imaginatively recreated the scene using contemporary reports. Set against a blazing sunset, the last voyage of the Temeraire takes on a greater symbolic meaning, as the age of sail gives way to the age of steam.

Key facts

Details

Full title
The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838
Artist dates
1775 - 1851
Date made
1839
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
90.7 × 121.6 cm
Acquisition credit
Turner Bequest, 1856
Inventory number
NG524
Location
Room 40
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
19th-century French Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

Loading...