The subject of the painting is the practice of 18th century slaver traders who would throw the dead and dying slaves overboard during the middle passage in the Atlantic Ocean in order that they might claim the insurance for drowning . By painting such an emotive subject Turner was perhaps attempting to assist in the abolitionist campaign , though by this date slavery had been abolished throughout the British Empire . The painting was widely admired for it's use of colour and the way the sea and sky merge around the distant ship . In the lower portion of the painting , hands of enslaved Africans can be seen still shackled .
About Me
- Girodet
- " Every day we should hear at least one good song , read one good poem , see one exquisite picture , and , if possible , speak a few sensible words . " Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "
Friday, 25 November 2011
' The Slave Ship ' or ' Slavers Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying - Typhoon Coming On ' Joseph Mallard William Turner ( English 1775 - 1851 ) Oil on canvas circa 1840
The subject of the painting is the practice of 18th century slaver traders who would throw the dead and dying slaves overboard during the middle passage in the Atlantic Ocean in order that they might claim the insurance for drowning . By painting such an emotive subject Turner was perhaps attempting to assist in the abolitionist campaign , though by this date slavery had been abolished throughout the British Empire . The painting was widely admired for it's use of colour and the way the sea and sky merge around the distant ship . In the lower portion of the painting , hands of enslaved Africans can be seen still shackled .
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