“Fiercely the Red Sun Descending Burned His Way Among the Heavens,” shown above on the left, was painted by Thomas Moran in 1875, just 30 years after J.M.W. Turner, an Englishman who often painted certain aspects of America, painted “Slave Ship,” above on the right, in 1840. Moran knew he wanted to capture a scene from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem about a Native American warrior titled “The Song of Hiawatha.” However, he craved a certain inspiration. It was not until 1862 when he studied Turner’s work in England that he thought of using “Slave Ship” as inspiration for the piece he was planning. Moran was inspired by both the malevolence of the sun and the twist it had on the history of the painting. In the painting, J.M.W. Turner …show more content…
According to the New York Public Library, which held an exhibit comparing the artists, “the exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to experience side by side the British and American artists’ often complementary and sometimes divergent views of nature,” (Viljoen). The library’s exhibition points out that although the paintings appear very similar, there are major differences between the two, and therefore are not directly the same. The J.M.W. Turner Museum holds an annual exhibit showcasing the comparison of the two artists’ work as well, yet considers Moran’s work to be copies of Turner’s originals (“From Copier to Master - The Swift Ascent of Thomas Moran”). However, this exhibit perfectly aligns Turner’s and Moran’s pieces together, showing original and interpretation. For example, the image above on the left is Turner’s “Bridges of St. Cloud and Sévres” from 1835. The painting on the right is given the same name, but was painted by Thomas Moran in 1862. It is obvious that Turner’s work was certainly the inspiration for Moran’s piece, but it was not a definite copy of the original. Moran amplifies the scene by adding bright colors and new textures to reimagine the painting. Through the style of luminism, Moran gave a new light and meaning to the scene. Turner’s piece expresses the hardships of life and appears dreary and somber, whereas Moran’s interpretation is …show more content…
Taking a second look at the first two paintings, Moran’s “Fiercely the Red Sun Descending Burned His Way Among the Heavens,” and Turner’s “Slave Ship,” one can note the drastic amplification provided by Moran. When studying in England in 1862, Thomas Moran was struck with inspiration when he viewed Turner’s works. Upon viewing “Slave Ship,” a painting that captured the transatlantic slave trade and “heightened the malevolence of the story by marshaling all the forces of nature—a roiling, inky sea, a livid sun, and an angry, incendiary sky—creating a setting fit for the Apocalypse,” Moran was inspired by the style of the painting and sampled the style in a different context (Coffey). In Turner’s “Slave Ship,” the focus is not the sun, but the malevolence of the ship itself as it sails across these choppy waters. However, Moran’s use of contrast between very cool colors to very warm colors in “Fiercely the Red Sun Descending Burned His Way Among the Heavens” immediately attracts attention to the sun and it’s brightness in the painting. The brushstrokes from the water to the rocky mountains are quite thin and choppy, but those of the sun are deep, rich, and intense. The brightness and intensity create a blinding and volcanic sun that appears to be setting the clouds above it on fire. Moran uses darker, ink-like colors in the water to mute the background for a moment,