Dawn after the Wreck

In spite of its title — invented by the Victorian critic John Ruskin — this watercolour does not directly depict the aftermath of a shipwreck, although it probably shows a stretch of the Kent coast notorious for its dangers. Several elements do, however, imbue the coastal scene with a sense of solitude and even despair: the intense palette of reds, blues and yellows, the moonlight on the sand and waves (an effect J.M.W. Turner evoked by rubbing and scratching through the watercolour wash), and the lone dog howling at the sky. In the last two decades of his career, Turner turned away from detailed descriptions of specific locations in favour of studying the ever-changing effects of atmosphere and weather on a landscape. Rather than illustrating a specific incident, this late watercolour can be understood as an exploration of the nature and mood of the sky and sea.