What can Turner still teach us? Reflections on Turner and Constable at Tate Britain

Seeing Turner and Constable shown together at Tate Britain highlights how these two master painters, who had very different beginnings, evolved to produce work unique to their own experience of nature. While Constable’s work is rooted in observation and place, Turner’s paintings move towards something far less fixed: light, movement, atmosphere, and the sea as a living force. As an artist who paints swimmers at sea, I have long felt a strong connection to Turner’s way of dissolving boundaries between body, water and sky. This exhibition makes clear just how radical his vision was, and why it continues to feel so alive today.

What emerges most clearly for me at this exhibition is not rivalry, but contrast. Both artists were deeply attentive to the natural world, yet they approached it in quite different ways. Constable’s landscapes feel rooted in land and familiarity, places shaped by memory and close observation. Turner, on the other hand, seems drawn to what cannot be held still: light, weather, and the movement of the sea. That shift from observation to immersion is what gives Turner’s work its lasting power, and it is something I recognise strongly in my own relationship with the sea as both subject and experience.

Constable and the Grounded Landscape

Constable’s paintings feel firmly rooted in the land. His landscapes are shaped by familiarity, places he knew through walking, working and repeated looking and there is a steadiness to his approach that comes from careful observation. Weather, light and cloud are important, but they remain tethered to a specific place and moment. In the context of this exhibition, Constable’s work provides a sense of stability and anchoring, a relationship with nature that is based on closeness and continuity rather than immersion.

While I have always admired Constable’s commitment to observation, his work does not speak to me in the same visceral way. My own practice is less concerned with place as something fixed, and more with the experience of being within a landscape  especially the sea where conditions shift constantly and the body becomes part of what is being felt.

It is against this sense of grounding and stability that Turner’s work feels so radical. Where Constable’s landscapes hold the viewer at a measured distance, Turner seems to draw us in, asking us to experience nature from within rather than observe it from the edge.

Turner's use of light, colour and draftsmanship

Turner and the Experience of the Sea

Turner’s paintings of the sea are not simply representations of water, but attempts to convey what it feels like to be immersed in it. Light, weather and movement are allowed to dominate, so that the boundary between sea, sky and land begins to dissolve. In many works, the human presence is small or partially obscured, yet never incidental. Figures appear vulnerable, purposeful, and acutely aware of the forces around them.

What feels particularly powerful is Turner’s willingness to allow instability into the work. Storms gather, light breaks through cloud, horizons blur or disappear altogether. The sea becomes a place of both beauty and threat, and the viewer is not offered a safe, detached vantage point. Instead, we are placed uncomfortably close to the action, sharing something of the uncertainty and exposure experienced by those within the scene.

A painting exploring immersion and movement in the sea

This contrast, between the immersive, almost mystical sea and the precise, real swimmers allows me to explore both the physical and emotional experience of being in or near the water. The presence, skill, and resolve are part of the story the painting tells. In this way, the work is less about representation and more about what it feels like to enter, to swim, to watch, and to be part of a vast, changing environment.Exhibitions like this remind me why painting matters. Not simply to record a view, but to explore what it feels like to be in a moment, immersed in light, water, and air. Turner’s work continues to challenge and inspire me. 

Section of Snowstorm, J.M.W. Turner seascape showing dramatic light and movement

Painting Swimmers Within the Sea

In my own work, I try to capture the balance Turner achieves between human presence and the forces of nature. The sea in my paintings is often loose, expressive, and sometimes wild, its light and movement reflecting the conditions of a moment rather than a fixed scene. Against this, the swimmers are painted with care and realism. They are often serious swimmers, people who have challenged themselves in open water, including Channel swimmers. Their figures are full of intent, within the shifting, sometimes unpredictable sea around them.

Detail of a recent sea painting showing loose, expressive water and realist swimmer

Mr Turner film (2014)

After visiting the exhibition, we watched Mike Leigh’s film Mr Turner (2014), which offered a very different, but complementary, perspective on Turner’s life and working practices. One aspect that feels especially relevant is Turner’s decision to leave his work to the nation rather than selling it as a complete collection. This act of generosity (and foresight) is one of the reasons we are still able to experience such a rich body of his work today, and it adds an extra layer of meaning when encountering his paintings in public collections.

Turner - The Secret Sketchbooks

We also watched a lovely documentary of Turner's life, including Timothy Spall as well as other artists, reflecting on their impressions and featuring the 'secret sketchbooks' revealing the inner man and how he spoke through his work.

Constable's Year

Finally, on the radio I am listening to a series called  Constable's Year introduced by Susan Owens, in honour of the 250th anniversary of his birth. Understanding the life, tragedies and constraints of Constable's life, as well as what lies behind his sketches in Brighton, where we now live, is well worth a listen.