This page forms part of a series of pages dedicated to the many artists who painted in Caen. A full list of all the artists with a link to their works can be found at the bottom of this page.
Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851) known as William Turner, was an English artist of the Romantic movement. He was a painter, printmaker and a watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colourisations, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings.
As a child prodigy he went to art school in London at the age of 14. Although he lived all his live in London, he travelled extensively in Europe, particularly the Normandy area.
Intensely private, eccentric and reclusive, Turner was a controversial figure throughout his career. He did not marry, but fathered two daughters, Eveline (1801–1874) and Georgiana (1811–1843), by his housekeeper Sarah Danby. He became more pessimistic and morose as he got older, especially after the death of his father, after which his outlook deteriorated, his gallery fell into disrepair and neglect, and his art intensified. In 1841 Turner rowed a boat into the Thames so he could not be counted as present at any property.
He lived in squalor and poor health from 1845, and died in London in 1851 aged 76. Turner is buried in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London.
Click here to read Turner’s full bio on Wikipedia.
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NOTE: A black box like this one, means that there is an explanation text about today’s situation of the painting above it.
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TODAY: There is no cathedral in Caen (no bishop), and most people mistake the Saint-Pierre church for the cathedral. It is NOT.
William Turner painted in the following other places in France (but mostly in Normandy), which will be featured eventually on this site. A link “⇠” to those cities will appear below when published.
- Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes
- Lyon
- Sallanches
- Bourgogne-Franche-Comte (Burgundy)
- Macon
- Centre-Val de Loire
- Blois
- Orleans
- Tours
- Grand Est
- Metz
- Hauts-de-France
- Calais
- Normandy
- Caen ⇠
- Caudebec-en-Caux (and surroundings) ⇠
- Cherbourg (surrounding only) ⇠
- Dieppe (and surroundings) ⇠
- Eu
- Granville
- Honfleur ⇠
- Le Havre (and surroundings) ⇠
- Le Treport
- Rouen
- Vernon
- Pays de la Loire
- Angers
- Nantes
- Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur
- Avignon
- Marseille
Artists featured here who painted in Caen (but not limited to) are (a link “⇠” will be placed next to an artist name when their works are published. A “*” means that the artist did NOT work in Caen itself, instead worked in nearby villages and towns):
- 🇺🇸 Boggs, Frank Myers ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Bonington, Richard Parkes ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Boudan, Louis ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Boudin, Eugene ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Bourgeois, Constant ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Callow, William ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Cameron, David Young ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Cotman, John Sell ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Dauzats, Adrien ⇠
- 🇫🇷 de Jolimont, Theodore Basset ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Dolby, Edwin ⇠
- 🇳🇱 Dommersen, William ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Garneray, Ambroise Louis ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Gernez, Paul-Elie * ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Guerard, Henri ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Hervier, Louis Adolphe ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Huet, Paul * ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Isabey, Eugene ⇠
- 🇳🇱 Jongkind, Johan ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Lepine, Stanislas ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Lepoittevin, Eugene ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Letellier, Emile-Andre ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Loiseau, Gustave ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Montague, Alfred ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Poynter, Ambrose ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Prout, Samuel ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Roberts, David ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Rushout, Anne ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Schafer, Henry Thomas ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Stanfield, Clarkson George ⇠
- 🇧🇪 Timmermans, Louis-Etienne * ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Thorigny, Felix ⇠
- 🇬🇧 Turner, Joseph Mallord William ⇠
- 🇫🇷 Valtat, Louis * ⇠
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