I have chosen to contrast JMW Turner's painting, War. The Exile and The Rock Limpet, and Sir William Quiller Orchardson's painting, Napoleon onboard the Bellerophon. Both paintings are from the Tate Britain and deal with Napoleon's exile; they both illustrate Napoleon in contemplation but at different moments of his exile. As well as the similarities present within these painting there are also clear differences that we can see. For instance, Orchardson was famed as a historical artist and what we are offered in his painting is a factual demonstration of how things really would have been when being taken prisoner onboard the British man-of-war, HMS Bellerophon. Turner on the other hand was a very idiosyncratic artist, and was more an artist who's handling of paint especially by 1844 was 1personal and intuitive, scraped, brushed and smeared-he creates sweeping movements and general atmospheres to imply rather than describe both setting and detail. In this way the Turner is more an emotional piece, this is suggested not solely by the actual painting but also the title. By writing "War" as a sentence he plays on all the emotional connotations associated with it where as Orchardson's title is purely descriptive and factual. However, both artists stress Napoleon's depression, regret and isolation and the fact that he will never be free again, the differences arise when we look at the way these emotions and ideas are conveyed. .
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Sir William Quiller Orcardson a Royal Academician; his admirers include Whistler, Sickert and Degas. Orchardson is famous for his historical paintings, but is now known for his modern moral subjects such as The First Cloud. Napoleon onboard the Bellerophon shows a grand warship, HMS Bellerophon, which is bound for St.Helena where Napoleon remained until his death in 1821. The degraded ruler stands on the ship's deck, he stands isolated from the group, which is not completely dissimilar from Turner's depiction, as Napoleon stands isolated but away from a soldier who stands behind him, guarding him.
