Slave Ship Painting

Miranda Viehman

Hum 101

Professor Bomboy

20 December 2015

The Slave Ship

    Joseph Mallord William Turner is an English Romanticist landscape painter, who is also noted as a great master of British watercolor landscape painting. While Traveling widely across Europe and studying in the Louvre in Paris, Turner became attracted to painting storms in the sea.  Turner was known as a controversial figure in his day, which he shows with his painting The Slave Ship.  

    As a romanticist artist, Turner sacrificed lines to emphasize color. For most of the painting we see vibrant oranges and red creating this typical sunset. This sunset seems to be the focal point, however the flow of color down the painting soon brings the focus to the foreground. In the foreground of the painting, a very neutral color pallet is used which shows body parts in the water. Black is also used foreground, which stands out from the neutral colors to make the audience realize that these people in the water were shackled, and therefore slaves thrown overboard from the ship.   Also, due to a lack of definite lines, the red runs into the ocean and into the water of the bodies, creating this effect of blood draining from the drowning slaves. Shifting to the left portion, there are many different colors being sed. These blues, greys, and purples create this sense that a storm is coming, which is further demonstrated by the ships having its sails down. (Kiero, 2015) There is also contrast to the beauty of nature and the cruelty of humans. The areas of the painting containing humans, the ship and foreground are dominated by dark, dull colors whereas the areas of nature, such as the sun and sky, contain more light and vibrant colors. Turner’s lack of lines allows the painting to show how nature is a part of the human life, and allows the focus point to shift in the painting. Furthermore, Turner’s use of color shows how beautiful nature can be in contrast to how dark humans can be.

    Turner shows two main ideas throughout this painting. He shows throughout the painting the indifference of nature and the elements. On one hand, the sky and darkness around the ship shows the typhoon and the storm coming for the ship, yet on the other hand, Turner shows glimpses of fish and other sea creatures attacking the slaves in the water.  (J.M. Turner Bibliography, 2015) However, his primary idea in the painting is to show the inhumane actions that people are capable of. As an abolitionist, one of his main goals of this painting was to help the idea of outlawing slavery worldwide, In 1840, Turner’s inspiration for the painting came after he read The History and Abolition of the Slave Trade, by Thomas Clarkson. Clarkson had written about the slave ship Zong that, in 1781, had 133 slaves ordered to be thrown overboard so that the insurance payments would be made. Showing this in the painting, Turner wanted to show the world how cruel one man could be to another. Therefore, he decided to accompany the exhibit of his painting with a meeting of the British Anti-Slavery Society.

    Turner was successful in showing his two ideas. At first the storm seems like divine retribution as the storm comes for the slave ship. But the fact that nature is affecting not only the slave ship but the storm will also cause the slaves that were thrown overboard to drown really shows the equality of nature and her effects on humans.(Arts, 2015) Furthermore, the chained slaves drowning while being attacked by the fish, all while the ship is sailing away, effectively shows the brutality of the humans onboard the ship. Personally, I found the Turners ideas of nature interesting but the painting itself gave me fixed feeling. Initially I was saddened while looking at the slaves drowning. However, the fact that this painting was used to create awareness for these slaves and all the other slaves gave me a heartwarming feeling that there are people in this world who will stand up for what is right. I take the a Post-Colonial critical viewpoint on this painting as Turner stood up for a minority group in the world at the time, even though as a British white male, he had no affiliation with the slaves.

At the time, Turner created the painting to show the cruelty of humans and to try to help abolish slavery. Nature is always very prevalent in this painting, however this should be no surprise as Turner was a famous landscape artist.  Using the elements of color and lines (lack of), Turner pictures the beauty of nature and dark side of humanity. Turner also exemplifies the indifference of nature as it affects all of the people in the painting.  In reality, Turner used this painting to take a stand against inhumanity and slavery, unfortunately to some; The Slave Ship was just another piece in Turners collection.

  

Arts, M. o. (2015, Decemeber ). Slave Ship. Retrieved from Museum of Fine Arts: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/slave-ship-slavers-throwing-overboard-the-dead-and-dying-typhoon-coming-on-31102

J.M. Turner Bibliography. (2015, Decemeber 19). Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/jmw-turner-40806

Kiero, G. K. (2015). The Humanistic Traditions. new york,NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Turner the Slave Ship. (2015, Decemeber ). Retrieved from http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/4c/turner.004.htm

Old Main

Miranda Viehman

Professor Bomboy

Humanities 101

25 September 2015

Penn State Old Main

A lot of buildings today resemble the architecture created during the Greek Classical period. The Penn State Old Main building was strongly influenced by the Greeks.  Old Main was designed to have classrooms, laboratories, offices, a chapel, and residential space for students. Old main closely relates to the Corinthian order which was named after the ancient Greek city Corinth. Old main was inspired by the Greek architecture and it’s also one of the most well known buildings on campus.

The Penn State Old main mostly resembles the Corinthian order. The columns are straight, sleek and slender. Unlike the others the Corinthian orders’ columns are all one size (Fiero 124), while the other two are slimmer at the top and go out like a cone shape. This building is one of the most unique landmarks on campus. The base of the columns has rings like the Ionic order. The capital has flower petal shaped carvings and is simple and elegant (Fiero 124). This building has a symmetrical structure, witch have the same number of windows on each side and also have the same number of columns. When the Greeks designed buildings they wanted each one to have a purpose. Old Main was designed for classrooms, labs, offices and residential space for students to live in.  This building was built directly in the middle to show how powerful and important this building was. The building also has a crossing which has smaller columns that are also detailed and set up just like the first. This was the old home of the bell that no longer is in the building but instead the play a recording of the bell every hour. One way the importance of this building is shown is through the building materials. The building is entirely made from limestone and was renovated. Today it’s used for administrative purposes to help students.

When looking at the building you can tell it’s a powerful building. This building also shows balance and simplicity. The Greeks always had large doors and entry ways. The building also had large columns that are rounded and topped with classical order capitals posts. The carvings in the columns are balanced and orderly. I think they use really simple designs to make it more elaborate. During the neoclassical period, they started using the canon of portion. This building is a great example of the perfect proportions. The canon of proportions uses mathematical proportions to enhance the image of building when looking at the structure from the outside. Another way the importance of Old Main is shown is the large columns with great details on each column. I think the design of the building is great because every time someone walks by they realize the building is important without knowing what actually is going on inside. The people who designed this building wanted it to be a multi-purpose building.  The Classical styles were the best of the three. During this time everything focused on Clarity, simplicity, balance and portions.

The Greek architecture started in the west and really picked up during the renaissance time period. They had some of the better constructed buildings in the world. A lot of the building that were built became well known or staples’ of the cities. The Greeks were influenced by the Roman world which helps build a foundation for the classical period. You will many buildings to the day still being designed and blue printed like the Greeks once did. In the past they often used marble and limestone to build these buildings. Old Main was constructed entirely out of limestone. When architectures use limestone is makes the buildings look more high-end. A lot of important buildings will use limestone not only because it looks nice but also because it more durable and will last longer.  Old Main’s overall design reflected Greek architecture and was built with a stable foundation.

Many buildings today are strongly influenced by Greek architecture. Penn State Old Main definitely was influenced by the Greeks. The Corinthian order was chosen to help harmonize and show how Penn State is powerful. Not only were the Greek architecture patterns acquired but the canon of the proportions was too. The canon of proportions helped make the building have a more stable foundation and make the buildings balance and symmetrical.

Work cited page

JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Corinthian Order." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Sep. 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Explore Capitol Hill." Corinthian Columns. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Gloria k. Fiero. “The Human Traditions Volume 1” text 27 Sept. 2015.

Immanuel Gial. "Illustration." N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. Immanuel Gial. "Illustration." N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.