Irina Ivanova
Russian State University for the Humanities, Russia
The report is devoted to the impact of the scientific views of I. Goethe and M. Faraday on William Turner’s (1775–1851) work and methods in art.
Practical use of knowledge and science theories in the artist’s experience presents the main interest in the context of this report.
Theory of colours by Goethe including his views on the nature of colours and how these are perceived by humans had a great influence on Turner’s fascination with science and his views on art. Turner was interested in some ideas when he worked on translation of Goethe’s tractate, which was focused on the issue of color perception in art.
Inspired by these theories Turner experimented with colours, also he decided that visual impressions that occur upon reflection, dispersion, refraction of light could be a worthy art challenge. He studied these effects with optical experiments using prisms and lenses, tried to understand and use phenomena such as coloured shadows, refraction, chromatic aberration.
In his art he studied different colours and colour groups watching their influence on each other, their perception in various combinations. Light and color effects on his canvases allow suggesting: Turner’s art “not only represented the light, but also symbolized its nature”. So, “Light and Colour” (exhibited 1843) could be claimed as a manifesto of artist’s experiments with colours.
Physicist and chemist Michael Faraday was never bored of watching the sky like Turner himself and was fascinated by the artist’s works. As friends they had long talks, and Faraday was an excellent scientist who conveyed his ideas in clear and simple language. His ideas and views could have influence on Turner, the artist also asked Faraday about chemical structure and properties of different colours.
In Turner’s art one can see scientific theories presented on the canvas, new ideas and even technologies of his time. Nowadays he may be called a “popularizer of science”.