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Death on a pale horse

J. M. W. TurnerAround 1825

Tate Britain

Tate Britain
London, United Kingdom

Although possibly incomplete, the subject can be identified as Death, the last of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who announce the Day of Judgement (Book of Revelation). The choice may have been in response to the death of Turner's father in 1829, suggested by the unusual treatment which is both tender and menacing. Death appears, not as a triumphant, upright figure astride his horse, but as a phantom emerging from a turbulent mist: his skeletal form, arms outstretched, and draped submissively over the horse's pale back. Such disturbing visions were considered to embody the very concept of the Sublime.

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  • Title: Death on a pale horse
  • Creator: Joseph Mallord William Turner
  • Creator Death Place: London, United Kingdom
  • Creator Birth Place: London, United Kingdom
  • Date Created: Around 1825
  • Provenance: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
  • Physical Dimensions: w756 x h597 mm
  • Original Title: Death on a pale horse
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
Tate Britain

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