The connection between: Turner, Money and Twombly at the Tate Liverpool

This years special exhibition at the Tate Liverpool is 'Turner Monet Twombly: Later Paintings'. Having seen the exhibition (and loved it!) I will be posting a review of it soon. As the title of the exhibition states there will be works from Turner, Monet and Twombly. The curators at the Tate Liverpool aim, through their exhibition, to 'explore the similarities between these artists in style, subject and artistic motivation'. But as other journalists have said the links between the artists may be quite hard to conceive at first thought, however, if we look at the artists individually and then together as a group is becomes clear why the curators have chosen these particular works.

Turner, The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last Berth to be broken up, 1838, Oil on canvas 

J.M.W.Turner, the Romantic English painter, portrayed enigmatic scenes of all over England and Europe. Included in these were the depictions of the roaring sea and the beautiful sublime fields of the English countryside. One of my favourite works by Turner is 'The Fighting Temeraire', painted in 1838. I think it's one of my favourites because of the colours used, as Turner creates an image of harmony and peace. The water looks only disturbed by the ship itself, intensifying the environment of serenity. Monet's use of nature and the world in which he lived in can be compared directly with Monet's.

Monet, Water Lilies, 1919, Oil on canvas

Similar to Turner, Monet used landscapes and nature as one of his main influences in his artwork. Claude Monet, the French Impressionist artist, is one of my all time favourites (as you can see by the header image, it's a photograph of me and one of Monet's famous Water Lily paintings at the MET in New York!) The Tate Liverpool will exhibit a number of paintings from the Water Lily series. This particular series has around 250 works of art, all depicting the same motif! That's a whole lotta' water and lily pods. 

Now, if you've never seen any of Monet's water lilies, you should. It's a must. If you're in London, head to the National Gallery as you can see one there. I personally think these paintings are amazing. I found it very awe-inspiring when I first viewed them. Monet, as all Impressionists do, creates an impression. As you look closely at the painting all you see are the swirls and mashing together of vibrant colours without any one set image being portrayed. It's almost as if someone has mixed an array of colours on a palette.

Then, as you step back and see the painting in all its form and glory, you see the vibrant, intense colours come together to create this magnificent painting. There's something almost Romantic about the natural scenes that Monet depicts,  which is why Turner and Monet seem like such a good fit together in this exhibition.

 

Twombly, Untitled, 2007

Twombly's work is stylistically different. In his series 'Blooming: A Scattering of Blossoms and other things', which artwork will be exhibited in the Tate Liverpool, he portrays flowers. As you can see from the painting above, Twombly's styles involves letting the paint drip downwards, creating a sense of movement, similar to that of disturbed water.

The paintings in this series are influenced by nature, and Twombly's work shows how the world of art has transformed. The simple shapes of the flowers also remind me of Monet's lilies, which perhaps was an influence of his.

 After looking at some artworks by Turner, Monet and Twombly it is clear that they are all influenced by nature, but all articulate it somewhat differently. This is an exhibition that I will definitely be attending, and I cannot wait to be in touching (of course you can't touch the paintings though!!) distance of Monet's water lilies.

I'm currently volunteering at the Tate Liverpool and have been able to go inside the exhibition. All I can say is 'Wow'. The art works are beautiful. Keep your eyes peeled to my blog as I'll be posting my own review of the exhibition soon!