The two pieces, The Slave Ship by JMW Turner and Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet are painted

around the same time, using a similar manner, but they have some very noticeable differences. The images are both of water and sailing, and the sun plays a major role in both of them. Although both of the pieces have very similar subject matter, and both are painted in a comparable style, they tell extremely different stories. Impression Sunrise is a very calm looking painting. The use of various blues and greys produces a feeling of serenity over the entire landscape. The water is very tranquil and reflects the world around it. The only red hues in the landscape come from the sun, which is very small in the background. The sun is not only tiny, but also motionless. The scene is kind of saddening because it shows the monotony of the sea. It shows the water as a vast empty space comprising of only blues and greys, which are known for being colors associated with sadness. The sunrise becomes the focus for this image because it is the only dash of color in the otherwise dull landscape. The impressionistic style focused on not the details, but the overall picture, and aimed to quickly capture fleeting moments in life. The sun rises every single day, but a sunrise like the one depicted in Monets painting is a rarity because then sun is entirely red. There is an old saying concerning the color of the sun and the sea that says Red at night, sailors delight. Red at dawn, sailors be warned. Since the picture is of a sunrise, the red sun at dawn is a little foreboding and this ominous feeling is enhanced by the overall lack of intense hues in the picture. The Slave Ship is a dramatic, powerful piece of art that uses color and the romantic style to portray anger. The artist painted this scene during the time of slave trading and used his art to show his personal thoughts on the controversial issue. The anger and sublime nature of the piece is clearly expressed because Turner used quick

brush strokes and intense colors such as reds, yellows, and blacks. He is making the sea look as furious as he feels, and is using his art to show his political stance. The sun also reveals anger and fury because it looks just as turbulent as the sea. Turner wrote a poem that helps further reveal the tragedy being portrayed. In this poem the words angry and fierce are used to describe the storm, and hope is brought into the equation. Since the slaves were thrown overboard with their shackles still attached, they are completely hopeless as they face their untimely deaths in a turbulent sea. The scene definitely shows hopelessness not only in context to the painting, but it goes further to imply that if humans can commit these sorts of barbaric crimes to one another, there isnt hope for the human race. This artwork has a lot of feelings that are being represented through the colors and style. Even without knowing what this piece is depicting, a viewer can feel the agony and despair upon first glance. Although both Monet and Turners pieces are painted in a similar style and pertain to the sea and the sun, the messages and emotions they convey are completely different. Monets image is smooth, serene, and although the brush strokes were made quickly, they are very well blended. In contrast, Turners painting is vivid and expressive using quick, angry brush strokes with harsh edges. The main color in Impression Sunrise is blue, a calm and sad color, with a little touch of red, while the main colors in The Slave Ship are black and red, with only a touch of blue. Its interesting that although Turners scene depicts water, which is known to be blue, there is hardly any blue in the painting. It transforms the water into a being with passion, and is portrayed as red to show the anger of the sea. The difference in the way the sun is represented in each piece is also remarkable, because they are the same subject but generate radically different emotional

responses just by the way they are painted. The Slave Ship also includes more humans, and they are each showing their final moments at sea making for a powerful scene. Even though silhouettes of people can be seen in Monets art, they are simply sailing their ships. The bold impact death is making in Turners picture doesnt exist in Monets. Monet used a wide range of colors in his masterpiece that can be seen when examined up close, and the artistic vision is still a strong one, but when put beside The Slave Ship it just doesnt express the same intensity of emotion through the colors or brushstrokes. Turner chose to express his personal feelings through his painting, while Monet captured a beautiful moment without personal feelings or political stances being attached to it. That alone could be the reason the pieces are so different even though they were made in the same period using the same techniques. One painting shows personal emotion and makes a political statement, while the other simply conveys beauty, calmness, and sadness. All in all, the pieces of art are very similar in idea, but are drastically dissimilar in the message and the emotions the viewer will receive. The artists undoubtedly took their viewers reaction to their art into account when creating it, and each made conscious artistic decisions that helped express the emotions they were attempting to convey. Monets calm yet foreboding sunrise produced serenity, beauty, and loneliness through use of color choice and the impressionistic style, while Turners sublime sea communicates passion and anger with expertly applied strokes and abstracted colors. These are two scenes that could be endlessly reflected upon and discussed. Monet and Turners landscapes have tons of dialog surrounding them and accurately depict the characteristics of their style, as well as the importance of artistic decisions.