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Buttermere Lake, with Part of Cromackwater, Cumberland, a Shower
J. M. W. Turner·1798
Historical Context
Turner exhibited Buttermere Lake at the Royal Academy in 1798, one of his earliest major oil paintings. The work depicts the Lake District landscape under dramatic storm conditions, with a rainbow arching across the composition — an early instance of Turner's lifelong fascination with atmospheric phenomena. The painting demonstrates his transition from topographical watercolor to the dramatic oil painting that would define his career. The Lake District, popularized by poets like Wordsworth, was becoming a destination for artists seeking sublime natural scenery. Now in the National Gallery, the painting shows Turner at twenty-three already commanding the compositional ambition and atmospheric sensitivity that would make him Britain's greatest landscape painter.
Technical Analysis
Turner captures the transient effect of light breaking through storm clouds, with a rainbow arching over the lake. The thin, luminous paint application and subtle tonal gradations show his developing interest in light as the primary subject.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the rainbow arching over Buttermere Lake: Turner's early fascination with transient atmospheric phenomena is announced in this ambitious first major exhibition painting.
- ◆Look at the storm clouds still present even as the rainbow appears: Turner captures the moment of meteorological transition — storm giving way to light — that creates the rainbow's appearance.
- ◆Observe the thin paint application creating luminous transparency: Turner's early technique already shows his preference for translucent glazes over opaque impasto, building up atmospheric light through layers.
- ◆Find the lake's still surface in the foreground: the calming water that reflects the clearing sky creates the vertical symmetry between land and sky that Turner used repeatedly in his lake district subjects.
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