"Fishermen at Sea" was painted with Oil Paint on Canvas by J.M.W. Turner and exhibited with the Royal Academy in 1796. The painting is an atmospheric night scene, which we could describe as Nocturnes or Nocturnal. The catalogue entry for this 1796 work, notes a contemporary account commenting that 'the figures, by not being more distinct and determined, suit the obscure perception of the objects, dimly seen through the gloom of night, partially illumined.'
In many ways it must be harder to paint with vagueness in mind rather than the distinct shapes of detail and replication. If anything it becomes pleasing to the eye, and thereby allows us to join up our own lines and to create our own shapes. This of course means that the onlooker may never 'tire' of this painting, and see or perceive new things each time that they view the image.
Many of the online reproductions of the Turner painting are of poor quality. The lack of clarity and in part over saturation of colour, means that it is therefore difficult to use these online images as reference material to determine such matters as the figure poses and the details of the boats. The image is also reproduced in many books, but the quality of each reproduction is wholly dependent upon the quality of the source material that was used as well as the quality of the book printing.
'Fishermen at Sea' is also shown full page and in colour in: 'The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner; Plates', by Martin Butlin & Evelyn Joll. Published for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and The Tate Gallery by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1984. The image in this particular book allowed me to make five observations that had not been made by reference to a flurry of online material and a plate of this painting that appeared in another book. A copy of this book should be held by a Deposit Library (you can access the book onsite, but not remove it from the premises). There are five Deposit Libraries in the United Kingdom. Each Deposit Library will have it's own rules and processes for obtaining what is usually referred to as a 'Readers Ticket'. There are two versions of this book, the one with corresponding text, and one that is also titled 'Plates' and which thereby contains 572 full page images of Turner paintings and drawings, of which 'Fishermen at Sea' happens to be Plate No.1 in the sequence. The 'Butlin & Joll, 1984' Plate is certainly not the best image, and there are other online reproductions that show other parts of the image with improved clarity, but in the absence of being able to view the painting in person, it is recommended that this Plate is viewed in conjunction with online material.
Returning to the painting; the nocturnal scene is illuminated by a full moon and cloud cover with light bouncing off various clouds as well as directly entering the area of the canvas containing the main theme. There are two boats. For the purposes of these notes; the boat located on the left of the canvas will be referred to as being the main or primary boat. The reason for determining it as the primary boat is that it is draped in greater light and hence there is greater clarity of the figures onboard, and this boat is somewhat larger than the one on the right hand side of the canvas, and which we shall refer to as the secondary boat. Turner has loosely followed the 'Rule of Thirds' and placed the primary boat in the left third and lower third of the canvas, and the secondary boat roughly in the right third and lower third. The same composition technique has been used to place the Moon, that appears roughly one third from the left, and two thirds from the bottom of the support (canvas). These values aren't spot on; in fact the primary boat and the representation of the Needles combined, are one third up from the bottom, but of course you should be able to grasp the idea and the intention of the artist.
The composition is completed by the sea, the clouds, the distant mountains and shoreline, representation of 'The Needles' (Rocks with that name, off the Isle of Wight), the fishing net with it's associated paraphernalia, birds and light source. There is a distinct swell taking place with the sea, and two visible wave areas have been formed. The improved clarity of the 'Butlin & Joll, 1984' Plate, links the cloud formation (or maybe it is sea mist) to form almost one block of cover with the moonlight shining through. The same Plate identifies three floating objects (higher up on the crest) to the left of the lefthand barrel that is floating in the water, that in turn suggests that the fishing net from the primary boat covers an area of the image that is more extensive than first thought.
The primary boat has a taught line running from its bow (front). The tautness of the line suggests that it is attached to an anchor or a dredging anchor that allows the primary boat to move. But as these are fishing boats, there is also a possibility that the line is attached to somethings that weighs down part of the fishing net. The primary boat has a fishing contraption attached to a small mast at the stern (rear) of the boat. The light cast into the sea from an onboard lantern being held by one of the figures, illuminates the cork buoys that keep the uppermost part of the fishing net afloat. We can safely assume that the net is further connected to the two sealed wooden casks (or barrels) that are located to the left and right hand side of the canvas. But in the night gloom, and the sea swell; the linking lines are not obvious. Along with ageing cracks in the original oil paintwork, there are lines in the sea that form parts of the submerged fishing net.
The secondary boat has crested a wave from the main sea swell that forms part of the central theme. But of course this does not necessarily mean that this fishing boat has pushed on through that particular wave. The sails are down and the oars are not in place, so the crew have not made any obvious attempt at sailing through. The secondary boat, like the primary one may have cast a static, dredging or weighted line. It is simply that it cannot be seen in the painting. Low down beyond the bow of the boat is a contraption that looks attached. It is a flimsy and not too dissimilar version of the battering ram from an ancient fighting ship. It's purpose is unknown, but the contraption is probably something to do with feeding out or retaining the net in position.
There are three birds shown in the scene. Two of the birds are in flight and the third is resting on, landing on, or taking off from the right hand fishing barrel that supports the net. These three birds illustrated in white are well contrasted to the darkness of the sea swell in that area. Although unlike other online and book images, the 'Butlin & Joll, 1984' Plate shows the dark sea as not being quite as dark as the photography has defaulted to (that's the problem with a camera, it tends to search for the average result) and that the darkness is in fact made up of numerous black lines, that Turner added to the painting to suggest movement within the dark area of the sea swell; as opposed to the distinct lines of the submerged fishing net. Reference to the the 'Butlin & Joll, 1984' Plate shows with clarity the difference between the sea movement 'lines' and the ones forming the fishing net. They cannot be confused, and Turner's intention was clear.
There appear to be five figures in the primary boat and four figures in the secondary one. The central figure to the theme is the fisherman sat in the primary boat and who is holding an illuminated lantern to provide light beyond that available from the full moon. To his right at the stern of that boat is a figure hard at work, whose arms are illuminated from the lantern light. To the left of the lantern holder is a figure looking away from us and with their right arm extended. On the other side of the boat are two figures leaning over the and looking towards the horizon. The weather causing the swell is reinforced by the full moon (denoting high tide) and the coat tail of one of the figures flapping in the wind.
The figures in the secondary boat are less distinct. The main interaction being the figure towards the bow of the boat; who is holding onto a line with both hands. But of course we do not know if that figure is lowering or is about to raise the sail. The act of lowering would of course suggest that the secondary boat had deliberately crested the sea swell to take up its position in the composition. Although as a neutral onlooker and without the benefit of additional evidence, we cannot be certain. There are certainly at least four figures in the secondary boat, but there may be a fifth to the left of the chap holding the sail line. If there is a fifth figure then it is to the edge of the raised side of the boat and is helping to weigh the boat down on that side. The two central figures on the secondary boat appear to having a dreadful time. Rather than being involved in the fishing process; they appear instead to hanging on for grim life. The figure at the stern of the boat can be seen in two poses. In one pose it is facing you and in the other it is holding onto the tiller arm and facing the figure who is working the line. Maybe this vagueness was a deliberate mechanism employed by Turner.
There is a possibility that there are paint marks to suggest two ghostly ships, just beyond and almost in line with Turner's representation of the Needles. The first ship appears as if with sails down almost at the top and to the right of the mast of the primary fishing boat. The second one, but with a hint of sail, appears at the top and to the left of the rear fishing mast of the secondary boat. Was this a deliberate ploy by Turner? In that he added colour and marks to suggest something else, or even to suggest something that is not truly there? We know from his other work, that he developed a fondness towards suggestion and not pure representation. Of course these ghostly additions may be down to poor reproduction of the original painting.
The inclusion of numerous dark marks beyond the bow of the secondary boat (again shown with clarity in the 'Butlin & Joll, 1984' Plate); suggest the existence of floats holding a fishing net that has been cast from that boat as well. We can assume from the manner in which the scene has been painted, that this is early into the fishing process, otherwise dead fish and or their entrails would be on either boat and the sea birds would be swarming that area rather than the darkened sea swell to the lower right hand side of the painting.
The oil on canvas painting is sized 914 x 1222mm (another source puts the measurement at 915 x 1224mm) and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1796. The painting is also known as 'The Cholmeley Sea Piece' and was the first oil painting to be exhibited by Turner. The variations in metric sizing may be down to errors in translating the Imperial measurement of the original canvas.
Roger Bennett, August 2016
