Monaco catches a glimpse of the world through Turner’s eyes

The Grimaldi Forum Monaco, in collaboration with Tate Britain, was unveiling almost 80 paintings and watercolours by William Turner that are rarely seen outside London.  The “Turner’s Sublime Legacy” exhibition also featured works by 15 renowned contemporary artists influenced by the “painter of light”.

One of the most famous romantic artists of the 19th century, Turner is often regarded as the first modern painter. After the Claude Monet exhibition, which attracted 120,000 visitors in 2023, the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) taked centre stage this summer at the Grimaldi Forum.

The vast number of watercolours produced by the “painter of light” during his travels in Great Britain and continental Europe, as well as his finished and unfinished canvases from different periods, evoke the effects of light and atmosphere on the landscape.  The Alps, as seen in ‘The Fall of an Avalanche in the Grisons’ in Venice, were an endless source of inspiration for the painter. Turner also visited the Riviera in 1828, where he drew a few pencil sketches of Monaco in a notebook that he took along with him on his trip from Marseille to Genoa.

The Englishman’s pioneering and experimental painting techniques, and his bold use of colour, have influenced artists and art movements up to the present day. Around thirty works by modern and contemporary artists (painting, sculpture, installation, video and photography), from John Akomfrah to Mark Rothko and Jessica Warboys, have been chosen to encourage a conversation about how Turner’s work may have sparked the age of Impressionism.  “The 15 contemporary artists featured alongside Turner were all either influenced by, associated with, or sometimes challenged his vision of nature. These contemporary works interspersed throughout the exhibition reflect the ongoing relevance of Turner’s exploration of sublime art in landscapes”, notes Elisabeth Brooke, Senior Project Curator at the Tate Gallery.

To find out more, visit: https://www.grimaldiforum.com/fr/agenda-manifestations-monaco/exposition-turner-le-sublime-heritage