The revered artist conjured groundbreaking scenes of gods, legends and lost civilisations, but, more than anything, his work came to represent the complex soul of Britain like that of no artist before or sinceHe never crossed the Atlantic. Never sailed the Aegean. A cross-channel ferry was enough for Joseph Mallord William Turner to understand the might and majesty of the sea. His 1803 painting Calais Pier records his feelings on his first arrival in France as foaming green mountains of waves look as if they’re about to sweep away the frail wooden jetty where passengers from England are expected to disembark. He is fascinated and appalled by the water, so solid in its power but always shifting, dissolving, sheering away.If JMW Turner, born 250 years ago this spring, is Britain’s greatest artist – and he is – it is partly because he is so intensely aware of a defining fact about his country: it’s an island. For Turner, Britain is bordered by death, terror and adventure. Just one step from shore takes you into a world of peril. In the Iveagh Seapiece, fishers are hauling up their boats on a soaking beach while a wave like a wall surges towards them. One fishing boat is still out on the wild waters, so near to shore yet so far from safety. Continue reading...