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Clash of the Titans – R.A. 2018

July 11, 2017

 

1835

JMW Turner “Helvoetsluys”

Since 1768, The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition has been one of the worlds great art events and 2018 will mark its 250 anniversary.  Along with its yearly exhibit, the academy plans on hosting The Great Spectacle … an exhibition illustrating the controversies and disputes surrounding some of the previous exhibits.

According to Mark Brown’s article in The Guardian, probably the most famous Summer Exhibition story shines light on the rivalry between two of Britain’s greatest painters, Turner and Constable, who clashed on what is known as varnishing day when academicians gather to put finishing touches to their works.

In May 1832 Constable, with immense pride, showed off his painting The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, a huge work he had, on and off, been working on for more than a decade.

Next to it the serene seascape offered by Turner, of Dutch ships in a gale, Helvoetsluys, seemed underwhelming in comparison.

Turner, loving the competition and refusing to be outdone, went to get his brush and palette and ostentatiously added a blob of blazing red in the middle, instantly transforming it. “He has been here and fired a gun,” wrote a cheesed-off Constable.

Artist, they can be such babies!!

Source: Royal Academy show to look back at 250 years of Summer Exhibitions | Art and design | The Guardian

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