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Notes
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A steam engine comes towards us as it crosses the Maidenhead Railway Bridge in the rain. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the bridge was completed in 1838. We are looking east towards London as the train heads to the west. The exaggeratedly abrupt foreshortening of the viaduct, which our eye follows to the horizon, suggests the speed with which the train bursts into view through the rain. Turner lightly brushed in a hare roughly midway along the rail track to represent the speed of the natural world in contrast to the mechanised speed of the engine. The animal is now invisible as the paint has become transparent with age, but it can be seen in an 1859 engraving of the painting. Turner frequently painted scenes of contemporary life and was particularly interested in industry and technology.
Title
Rain, Steam, and Speed - The Great Western Railway
Date
1844
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 91 x W 121.8 cm
Accession number
NG538
Acquisition method
Turner Bequest, 1856
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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