The Fighting Temeraire, 1839

The Fighting Temeraire is JMW Turner’s tribute to this famous English warship, hero of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) that rescued HMS Victory, Admiral Nelson's front line warship. The artist represents the moment when, on September 5 and 6, 1838, the Temeraire was towed, from the Thames estuary (from Sheerness) to its place of demolition (at Rotherhithe), by a steam tug. The dark and heavy form of the latter is brought to life as an innovative driving force, as evidenced by the tall smoking chimney and the two paddle wheels. It contrasts with the noble whitish silhouette of the Temeraire, which seems to glide, like a phantom vessel on the waves, towards its ultimate end. Turner accentuates the dramatic destiny of the warship by placing the scene at the end of the day, in the setting sun. The moon is also present, at the top left; its light is reflected in the calm waters. The sky inflamed with yellow, orange, red and mauve floods the surface of the painting, creating a vaporous and dramatic atmosphere, attenuated by the blue of the horizon.
The painter took liberties in describing the event and the boats. At the time of the events, the Temeraire was disarmed and without rigging, but Turner added these; it was pulled by two tugs, Turner shows only one and he reverses the position of his chimney and his mast on which flies a white flag. Turner did not want to represent the reality of the scene which he may not have seen. He wanted to convey an emotion and transform the event into a metaphor. It symbolizes a turning point in the history of navigation and its development towards modernity: the end of the majestic sailing ships and their gradual replacement by steamships , the future of the navy.