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Audio Stop 206

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We hover over a flax-yellow body of water lined with ships to our left and right, which are silhouetted against a moonlit, cloud-veiled sky in this horizontal landscape painting. The horizon comes about a third of the way up the composition. The moon hangs to our left of center in the sky, its light reflecting on the clouds in a bright, hourglass shape to create a tunnel-like effect. The sea below turns from a gold color close to us to pale blue along the horizon. To our left, one ship with gray sails is cut off by the edge of the canvas and another, also with gray sails, is situated farther from us. A small, dark rowboat with two passengers moves between them. Light from the windows in buildings along the distant horizon to our left reflect in the water, and another building, a factory, spouts white flame from its chimney. More dark ships line the waterway to our right, their spiky masts black against the sky. Three flames, one orange between two pale yellow fires, flare in the darkness in front of the ship closest to us. The forms of men shoveling coal, crates, and barges are dark silhouettes against the firelight and smoke. More rowboats float among the boats in the distance. Near the lower right corner of the canvas, a broad, flat fragment of wood floats close to us. The hot orange and black on the right side of the painting contrasts with the silvery gray, light blue, and white that fills much of the rest of the composition. The painting was created with thick, blended brushstrokes throughout, giving the scene a hazy look. The texture of some of the brushstrokes is especially noticeable, as where the moon casts white light onto the water and in the clouds. The artist signed a buoy floating to our left with his initials, “JMWT.”

Joseph Mallord William Turner

Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, 1835

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 57

来自北卡罗来纳大学海洋科学研究所的生态学家Joel Fodrie和高级策展人Franklin Kelly讨论Turner对19世纪英国工业和气候变化的生动描绘。

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讲解员:
在19世纪初期的北英格兰,附近开采的大量煤矿都要经由泰恩河输送到海上运往伦敦。约瑟夫·玛罗德·威廉·特纳描绘了工人在夜间将煤从平底船搬到可以出海的高桅船上的情景。工人在劳动过程中用于照明的火把冒出滚滚浓烟。现在有请策展人富兰克林·凯利:  

富兰克林·凯利:
这里呈现的月光非常引人注目,立刻将我带入到情景之中。可以看到,不光是天上有月光,水面上也有一道反光,吸引人沿着画中的透视望向远处。冷色调的月光与火把暖色调的光形成对比,建立起某种//视觉上的推动与拉扯感,从而牵动着我们的注意力。  

讲解员:
特纳的视角很浪漫,然而真实发生在河上的劳动场景不会那么充满画意。

富兰克林·凯利:
当然,在工业革命主导下,19世纪30年代的英格兰正在发生剧变。那么工业革命里用到的那些发动机又是由什么东西带动的呢?煤。  

讲解员:
当时泰恩河上的煤矿运输应该造成了深远的环境影响。

乔尔·福德里教授来自北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校,是一名生态学家,专攻港湾与渔业,简单来说就是河流方面的专家。

乔尔·福德里:
这幅画里呈现的活动显然令我大受震撼。当时的人没有统计数据,对于可能发生的变化尚未形成长远的了解,而我们也只是刚开始理解。

我们建造了港口、海堤和巨型船坞。这些改造无处不在,深度改变了河流与港湾的形态与特性。各个地区都在经受着这种普遍发生的剧变。   

我震惊于从古至今的思想转变。现在我们会关心环境健康、环境质量以及人类对地球的改造。

经济很重要。就业很重要。画里的这片港口也让我看到了许多就业机会!如今我们似乎已经陷入岌岌可危的境地,只能小心地平衡好这几点。

讲解员:
特纳的惊人画作让我们一睹工业革命初期的图景。由于环境持续随着人类活动而产生变化,这幅画也我们不由得围绕自然环境状况发出种种质疑。   
 

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