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Joseph Mallord William Turner (English, 1775–1851)
The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory, exhibited 1806, reworked and exhibited 1808
Oil on canvas; 67 1/4 x 94 in. (171 x 239 cm)
Tate, London, Turner Bequest, 1856
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This painting commemorates the death of Lord Nelson on the deck of his flagship HMS Victory, during the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. Nelson's body lies to the left of center, and the smoking gun of the French sniper is visible in the rigging at the upper right. The work is based on sketches that Turner made on board Nelson's ship, which returned with the admiral's body to England in December 1805. Critics praised the originality of Turner's depiction of the naval battle, which secured Britain's dominance of the seas for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars: "Mr. Turner … has detailed the death of his hero, while he has suggested the whole of a great naval victory, which we believe has never before been successfully accomplished, if it has been before attempted, in a single picture."
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