London from Greenwich Park exhibited (1809) by Joseph Mallord William TurnerTate Britain
From this vantage point on One Tree Hill in Greenwich Park, we can see the dome of St Paul's Cathedral marking the spiritual heart of the metropolis.
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Greenwich Park
A good artist knows when to flatter - it's clear that Turner's painting exaggerates the towers of the naval college. And while the view may have changed - the trees have grown, as has the city of London - it's still majestic.
Mortlake Terrace (1827) by Joseph Mallord William TurnerNational Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Mortlake Terrace
To the west of London lay Mortlake, a sleepy village in the county of Surrey.
Turner had recently returned from Venice, and in this painting he puts his newfound vision of light and of water to work to make the Thames appear Mediterranean.
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Mortlake Terrace
Mortlake Terrace is long gone, but the stately home still stands. It's now a grade II listed building and home to a restaurant. And you can still enjoy the same view that Turner held, by sitting at the restaurant's riverbank window seats.
The Fish Market at Hastings Beach (1810) by Joseph Mallord William TurnerThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Hastings
Turner is perhaps best known for his seascapes, which he made all around Britain's extensive coast. In 1810 he painted the hustle and bustle as tonnes of fish are landed at the market on the shingle beach of Hastings.
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Hastings
Though the industry has declined, Hastings remains a working fishing town. At the east end of the beach, boats are still hauled up onto the shoreline and their tonnes of catch landed. Though, these days, the market is held indoors.
St. Mawes, Cornwall (ca. 1823) by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, BritishYale Center for British Art
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St Mawes
Again, Turner knew when to embellish his subject. His scene of St Mawes barely resembles reality. The distant castles of St Mawes and Pendennis, and the rocky cliffs they sit on, are far less dramatic in real life. But, nonetheless, the village is outstandingly beautiful.
Ingleborough from Chapel-Le-Dale (between 1810 and 1815) by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, BritishYale Center for British Art
Chapel-le-Dale
Ingleborough, one of the highest mountains in the Yorkshire Dales. As ever, Turner has set it in a dramatic, romanticist scene, amidst driving rain and a flashing lightning bolt. Turner toured Yorkshire many times, and made a number of sketches of this notable peak.
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Chapel-le-Dale
The peak of Inglebrorough is visible for miles around.
Barnard Castle (ca. 1825) by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, BritishYale Center for British Art
Barnard Castle
Around 1825, Turner made another tour of Yorkshire, and visited Barnard Castle. Perhaps he wanted to test his eye for color, as this landscape seems to play with yellows, blues, reds, and a few greens, to create a harmonious vision of quiet, misty morning.
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This is the view from the same vantage point, a little overgrown. But…
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… this is the view from inside the ruins of the castle. It's easy to see why the imaginative Turner wanted to paint these artfully-decaying medieval ruins.
The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 (1834-1835) by Joseph Mallord William Turner, English, 1775 - 1851Philadelphia Museum of Art
Houses of Parliament, London
On the night of the 16th of October, 1834, a fire broke out at the medieval Palace of Westminster, then the houses of Parliament. Turner captured the dramatic towering inferno from the south bank of the Thames.
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In its place stands the New Palace of Westminster, built between 1840-76. Sadly, Turner never saw this completed, as he died in the winter of 1851. At his request, he was buried in St Paul's Cathedral, where he lies near to fellow artist Sir Joshua Reynolds.
City rooftops and the Duomo Santa Maria Del Fiore, Florence, Italy (2007-08-01) by Tetra ImagesGetty Images
Want to see more of the world through an artist's eyes? Tour Leonardo da Vinci's Florence
