Mortlake Terrace
J. M. W. Turner·1827
Historical Context
Turner's Mortlake Terrace (1826) at the National Gallery of Art depicts the bank of the Thames at Mortlake with its famous annual regatta — a subject that allowed him to combine the specific topography of the riverside town with the atmospheric treatment of river light and summer atmosphere. The painting was commissioned by the owner of the Mortlake house depicted, and Turner's topographic accuracy satisfied the patron while his atmospheric treatment — the luminous haze of a summer evening over the Thames — went far beyond mere property recording. The dark tree silhouette against the bright sky creates the strong tonal contrast that organized many of his mature compositions, the specific local detail suspended within a broader meditation on English light and landscape.
Technical Analysis
The evening light creates a golden atmospheric envelope that suffuses the entire composition. Turner's handling of the tree canopy and its shadows on the terrace demonstrates his mastery of the specific quality of English summer light.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the dark tree silhouette against the luminous sky: this strong tonal contrast — the solid vertical mass of the tree against the glowing horizontal expanse of evening light — organizes the entire composition.
- ◆Look at the Thames below the terrace: the river surface catches and reflects the evening light with the specific quality of still summer water that Turner observed with extraordinary accuracy.
- ◆Observe the figures on the terrace enjoying the evening: rendered with just enough detail to be recognizable as social types, they give the atmospheric landscape a human purpose.
- ◆Find the distant shore across the Thames: barely visible through the warm haze, the opposite bank exists as a suggestion of space rather than topographic fact.
Provenance
Painted for William Moffatt [c. 1754/1755-1831], "The Limes," Mortlake. with William Bernard Cooke, the engraver, c. 1831-1838. Harriott, by 1838; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 23 June 1838, no. 111); bought by Allnutt.[1] The Reverend Edward Thomas Daniell [1804-1842]; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 17 March 1843, no. 160); M.E. Creswick; sold 1851 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London); purchased 1851 by Samuel Ashton;[2] by descent to Elizabeth Gair Ashton [Mrs. Hyde Ashton], Cheshire;[3] by descent to Captain Ashton; sold 1920 jointly to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London) and (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London); sold 1920 to (M. Knoedler & Co., London and New York); sold 1 December 1920 to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 28 December 1934 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA. [1] This is probably John Allnutt (1773-1863), a friend and patron of numerous artists, including Turner, John Constable, and Thomas Lawrence. [2] Ashton lent the painting in 1857 to the exhibition in Manchester, _Art Treasures of the United Kingdom_, _Paintings by Modern Masters_, no. 256. [3] She lent it to the exhibition, _Pictures and Drawings by J.M.W. Turner, R.A., and a Selection of Pictures by some of his Contemporaries_, Corporation of London Art Gallery, Guildhall, 1899, no. 23.
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