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Joseph Mallord William Turner (English, 1775–1851)
Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps, exhibited 1812
Oil on canvas; 57 1/2 x 93 1/2 in. (146 x 237.5 cm)
Tate, London, Turner Bequest, 1856
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In this ambitious work, ancient and modern history converge in the context of the Sublime landscape. Turner depicted the Carthaginian general Hannibal and his army in a skirmish with local tribesmen in 218 B.C., as recorded by Livy. This image of Hannibal's Alpine crossing would have resonated in the context of recent events, as Napoleon had crossed the Alps when he invaded Italy in 1800; when the painting was exhibited in 1812, England was at war with Napoleonic France. Critics praised the work's naturalism as well as its intellectual underpinning: "The moral and physical elements are here in powerful unison blended by a most masterly hand, awakening emotions of awe and grandeur."
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