Turner was not painting a factual view of the Great Western Railway, but rather an allegory of the powers of nature and technology. The thrilling essence of speed was an innovative factor of life, with the power to alter our emotions of nature, while the steam of the locomotive provided a groundbreaking atmospheric scenery. These elements create an emotional tension associated with the overwhelming power of the sublime. The painting is interpreted as a celebration of travel and new technological power, with the railways representing the convergence of technology and natural forces. This celebrated picture demonstrates Turner's commitment to classical landscape, as well as his passion for experimentation and interest in the modern world. Structurally, the picture has a balanced arrangement of forms with its firm geometrical elements.
Additionally, Turner used cool tones of crimson lake to illustrate the shadows and, even though the fire in the steam-engine appears to be red, it is most likely painted with cobalt and pea-green. To illustrate the rain, he dabbed dirty putty on to the canvas with a trowel, whereas the sunshine scintillates out of thick, smeary chunks of chrome yellow. In the center of the painting and the upper right, Turner used thick impasto with a palette knife. Turner frequently created an atmospheric tonality in his artistic creations by spreading the paint in short, broad brushstrokes from a filthy palette onto the canvas and gradually drawing forms out of his color ground. In the interior of the train, Turner depicted a crowd of waving figures that served as a reminder that the railway was a festive and popular entertainment. However they could equally well have been dispersed by the furious wind evident in the grey streaks painted across the viaduct. For some, this detail expresses the idea of speed, as the puffs are progressively left behind.
The first, and nearest to the engine is the most distinct puff, while the other two gradually disappear in the horizon. Three white puffs of steam released by the engine into the air indicate that the train is in motion. In the bottom right of the painting, a hare runs along the track. In the lower-left corner of the painting, we can see a little person on a boat, making evident that the bridge is constructed on top of a river. The mist rising from the water, the rain that veils the sky, and the steam from the locomotive are blurred and mixed, unifying the painting's colors. However, the train and bridge, the solid elements of the painting, are barely hinted at, disappearing into the hazy and unreal atmosphere. The train in the center is dark and rain-shrouded, surrounded by a golden natural landscape on both sides. Turner's painting illustrates an oncoming train in the countryside during a summer rainstorm. The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and completed in 1839.ĭetail of a boat floating on the river in the lower-left corner of the painting. The location of the painting is widely accepted as Maidenhead Railway Bridge, across the River Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead a place that Turner had been exploring for over thirty years. The Great Western Railway (GWR) was one of a number of private British railway companies created to develop the new means of transport. The painting suggests that modern technology is a reality racing towards us. Turner seemed to be a generation ahead of other artists, as he was among the few painters at the time to consider industrial advancement as a commendable subject of art. The railway was among the most potent symbols of industrialization, since this new way of transportation heavily affected industrial and social life. The painting was painted close to the end of the Industrial Revolution, which brought a massive shift from an agrarian economy to one dominated by machine manufacturing in the Victorian Era.
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