Objective           Description       Soft          warm and cool colors, as well as loose, rapid brushstrokes cover  the entire          rectangular canvas surface, enveloping the objects in the  appearance of          a misty haze. Two diagonal forms predominate, both receding  within the          canvas space. On the left, an arched bridge moves diagonally  into a misted          central area of the same color variants. A larger and darker  diagonal          movement on the right draws our eye into the center of the  composition          as well. This shape, however, contains a smaller, darker form on  top of          it, semi-circular in shape with a vertical rectilinear object  protruding.          This dark rectilinear shape is the darkest and tallest of all  the shapes,          thus attracting our eye to it as a central focus.
Subjective           Analysis       Rain,          Steam and Speed is a painting that addresses the new  technology of          the railways in Britain. This image, painted to illustrate the  new rail          bridges crossing the Thames, illustrates the effect of speed  (through          diagonal movement) and steam (misty, loose brushwork) all  working within          the natural environment of a rainy England.       As a sublime experience, speed,          a novel factor of the ‘new’ 19th century life, offered its power  to overcome          nature (water and sky). The locomotive (complete with steam  powered engine)          is a representative of the ‘new’ technology and creates a ‘new’  ingredient          to the atmospheric effects that were representative to Turner’s  paintings          at this time.
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Objective Description
     
Soft warm and cool colors, as well as loose, rapid brushstrokes cover the entire rectangular canvas surface, enveloping the objects in the appearance of a misty haze. Two diagonal forms predominate, both receding within the canvas space. On the left, an arched bridge moves diagonally into a misted central area of the same color variants. A larger and darker diagonal movement on the right draws our eye into the center of the composition as well. This shape, however, contains a smaller, darker form on top of it, semi-circular in shape with a vertical rectilinear object protruding. This dark rectilinear shape is the darkest and tallest of all the shapes, thus attracting our eye to it as a central focus.

Subjective Analysis
     
Rain, Steam and Speed is a painting that addresses the new technology of the railways in Britain. This image, painted to illustrate the new rail bridges crossing the Thames, illustrates the effect of speed (through diagonal movement) and steam (misty, loose brushwork) all working within the natural environment of a rainy England.
      As a sublime experience, speed, a novel factor of the ‘new’ 19th century life, offered its power to overcome nature (water and sky). The locomotive (complete with steam powered engine) is a representative of the ‘new’ technology and creates a ‘new’ ingredient to the atmospheric effects that were representative to Turner’s paintings at this time.

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Notes

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