The Portland daily press., 1877-04-18
Turner's Slave Shin.

Those who intend to see Turner'S celebrated
picture now In the Boston Art Museum will be
interested in Ruskin's famous description II
should be read before seeing the picture, else
the spectator may think the wrong thing, and
that would be dreadful:
think the noblest sea that Turner has ever
painted. and, if SO, the nobest certainly ever
painted BY man, is that of the "Slave Ship"
the chief.Academy picture of the Exhibition of
1840 1t is sunset on the Atlantic after pro-
longed storm; but the storm is partially lulled,
and the torn and streaming rain-clouds are
moving in scarlet lines to lose themselves in the
hollow of the night. The whole surface Of sea
included in the picture is divided into two
ridges of enormous swell, not high, nor local
but low, broad heaving of the whole ocean,
like the lifting of its bosom by deep-drawn
breath after the torture of the storm. Between
these two ridges the fire of the sunset falls
along the trough of the sea, dyeing it with an
awful but glorious Ii ht, the intense and lurid
splendor which burns like gold and bathes like
bleod Along this fiery path and valley, the
tossing waves by which the swell of the sea is
restlessly divided, lift themselves in dark in
definite, fantastic forms, each casting faint
and CHASTITY shadow behind it along the illu.
mined foam. They do not rise everywhere, but
three or four together in wild groups fitfully
and furiously, as the under strength of the
swell compels or permits them; leaving be-
| tWccu tucu GodCucIOuo SpdCtS VI ltV6t duC
whirling water, now lighted with green and
lamp-light fire, now flashing back the gold oi
the decling sun, now fearfully dyed from
above with the indistinguishable images of
the burning clouds, which fall upon them in
fakes of crimson and scarlet, and give to the
reckless waves the added motion of their own
fiery flying. Purple and blue, the lurid shad-
ows of the hollow breakers are cast upon the
mist of the night, which gathers cold aud low
advancing like the shadow of death upsn the
guilty ship as it labors amidst the lightning of
the sea, its thin masts written upon the sky in
lines OF blood, ,glrded with condemnation in that
fearful hue which signs the sky with horror,
and mixes its flaming floods with the sunlight,
-and cast far along the desolate heave of the
sepuchral waves. incarnadines the multltudin-
Gus sea-
I believe if were reduced to rest Turner S
Immortality upon any single work, 1 should
choose this. Its daring concepton-ideal in
the highest sense of the worlds based on the
purest truth, and wrought out with the concen :
trated knowledge of life; its color is absolute
ly perfect, not one false or morbid hue in any
part or line, and so modulated that every
square inch OF canvas is perfect composition
its drawing as accurate as fearless; the ship
buoyant, bending and full of motion; its tones
as true as they are wonderful; and the whole
picture dedicated to the most sublime of sub
jects and impressions-tc completing thus the
perfect system of all truth. which we have
shown to be formed by Turner'S work s)-the
power, majestyland deathfulness of the open,
illinitable Sea-