Oil paint on canvas
Turner general highlights
Tate collection highlights
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on loan
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Turner Bequest
Oil paintings
Collection
Turner owned by Tate
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-mallord-william-turner-558" aria-label="More by Joseph Mallord William Turner" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Joseph Mallord William Turner</a>
Peace  Burial at Sea
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
architecture
astronomy
birth to death
burial
coast
countries and continents
death: Sir David Wilkie, sea burial, 1 Jun 1841
emotions, concepts and ideas
evening
formal qualities
Gibraltar
history
moonlight
natural phenomena
peace
places
politics and society
reflection
sea
seascapes and coasts
ship, sailing
ship, steam
silhouette
smoke
society
times of the day
townscape, distant
townscapes / man-made features
transport: water
universal concepts
<p>The 1840s saw Turner experimenting with square canvases. He shaped some, as here, into octagons. A pair to <span>War</span>, hanging nearby, it depicts the funeral of his friend, the artist David Wilkie. Wilkie died of typhoid in 1841 as he returned from the Middle East. Fearful the disease would spread, the Governor of Gibraltar refused to allow his body ashore and Wilkie was buried at sea. The island’s white cliffs are seen behind the ship. Turner imagines a funeral carriage on the ship’s deck, symbolising the public funeral Wilkie should have had. The painting was criticised for the blackness of its sails. Turner replied that he wished he could have made them blacker.</p><p><em>Gallery label, October 2023</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
24 October 2001 – 11 July 2005
2005-07-11
24 October 2001
2001-10-24
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2001-10-24
Making British History
Collection based display
1 October 2007 – 21 September 2008
2008-09-21
1 October 2007 – 6 January 2008
2008-01-06
2007-10-01
National Gallery of Art (Washington DC, USA)
10 February 2008 – 18 May 2008
2008-05-18
2008-02-10
Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas, USA)
http://www.DallasMuseumofArt.org
23 June 2008 – 21 September 2008
2008-09-21
2008-06-23
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA)
http://www.metmuseum.org
2007-10-01
JMW Turner
Tate partnerships & programmes
21 September 2009 – 19 September 2010
2010-09-19
21 June 2010 – 19 September 2010
2010-09-19
2010-06-21
Museo Nacional del Prado (Madrid, Spain)
2009-09-21
Turner and the Masters
Exhibition
22 February 2010 – 19 September 2010
2010-09-19
21 September 2009 – 3 January 2010
2010-01-03
2009-09-21
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2010-02-22
Turner and the Masters
Loan-out
8 October 2011 – 28 May 2012
2012-05-28
8 October 2011 – 15 January 2012
2012-01-15
2011-10-08
Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Sweden)
11 February 2012 – 28 May 2012
2012-05-28
2012-02-11
Staatsgalerie (Stuttgart, Germany)
http://www.staatsgalerie.de/
2011-10-08
On the Other Side of Air:Later paintings by Turner, Monet, Twombly
Loan-out
8 October 2011 – 28 October 2012
2012-10-28
8 October 2011 – 8 January 2012
2012-01-08
2011-10-08
Moderna Museet (Stockholm, Sweden)
11 February 2012 – 28 May 2012
2012-05-28
2012-02-11
Staatsgalerie (Stuttgart, Germany)
http://www.staatsgalerie.de/
29 June 2012 – 28 October 2012
2012-10-28
2012-06-29
Tate Liverpool (Liverpool, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
2011-10-08
Turner Monet Twombly: Later Paintings
Exhibition
8 February 2013 – 13 April 2014
2014-04-13
8 February 2013 – 19 May 2013
2013-05-19
2013-02-08
Art Gallery of South Australia (Adelaide, Australia)
http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au
4 June 2013 – 8 September 2013
2013-09-08
2013-06-04
National Gallery of Australia (Canberra, Australia)
8 October 2013 – 18 December 2013
2013-12-18
2013-10-08
Toyko Metropolitan Art Museum (Toyko, Japan)
1 January 2014 – 13 April 2014
2014-04-13
2014-01-01
Kobe City Museum (Kobe, Japan)
2013-02-08
J.M.W. Turner: Makings of a Master
Loan-out
10 September 2014 – 20 September 2015
2015-09-20
10 September 2014 – 25 January 2015
2015-01-25
2014-09-10
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
24 February 2015 – 24 May 2015
2015-05-24
2015-02-24
J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA)
20 June 2015 – 20 September 2015
2015-09-20
2015-06-20
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum (San Francisco, USA)
http://www.famsf.org
2014-09-10
Late Turner: Painting Set Free
Exhibition
24 February 2015 – 31 January 2016
2016-01-31
24 February 2015 – 24 May 2015
2015-05-24
2015-02-24
J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA)
20 June 2015 – 20 September 2015
2015-09-20
2015-06-20
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum
31 October 2015 – 31 January 2016
2016-01-31
2015-10-31
Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, Canada)
http://www.ago.net
2015-02-24
Late Turner
Loan-out
6 July 2019 – 2 May 2021
2021-05-02
6 July 2019 – 13 October 2019
2019-10-13
2019-07-06
Kunstmuseum (Luzern, Switzerland)
http://www.kunstmuseumluzern.ch
8 November 2019 – 26 January 2020
2020-01-26
2019-11-08
LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Westfälisches (Munster, Germany)
http://landesmuseum.lwl.org
20 February 2020 – 7 September 2020
2020-09-07
2020-02-20
Frist Center for the Visual Arts (Nashville, USA)
2019-07-06
The Sea and the Alps: Turner's Quest for the Sublime
Tate partnerships & programmes
28 October 2020 – 10 July 2022
2022-07-10
28 October 2020 – 12 September 2021
2021-09-12
2020-10-28
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
17 October 2021 – 6 February 2022
2022-02-06
2021-10-17
Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, USA)
http://www.kimbellart.org
27 March 2022 – 10 July 2022
2022-07-10
2022-03-27
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, USA)
http://www.mfa.org
2020-10-28
Turner's Modern World
Exhibition
17 October 2021 – 10 July 2022
2022-07-10
17 October 2021 – 6 February 2022
2022-02-06
2021-10-17
Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, USA)
http://www.kimbellart.org
27 March 2022 – 10 July 2022
2022-07-10
2022-03-27
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, USA)
http://www.mfa.org
2021-10-17
Turner's Modern World
Loan-out
10 May 2024 – 8 September 2024
2024-09-08
10 May 2024 – 8 September 2024
2024-09-08
2024-05-10
Laing Art Gallery (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/
2024-05-10
The Fighting Temeraire: Art, Industry and Nostalgia
Loan-out
Peace - Burial at Sea
support: 870 × 867 mm
framed: 1110 × 1108 × 120 mm


Accepted by the nation as part of the <a href="/search?gid=999999781" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Turner Bequest</a> 1856
<div class="text">
<p>The 1840s saw Turner experimenting with square canvases. He shaped some, as here, into octagons. A pair to <i>War</i>, hanging nearby, it depicts the funeral of his friend, the artist David Wilkie. Wilkie died of typhoid in 1841 as he returned from the Middle East. Fearful the disease would spread, the Governor of Gibraltar refused to allow his body ashore and Wilkie was buried at sea. The island’s white cliffs are seen behind the ship. Turner imagines a funeral carriage on the ship’s deck, symbolising the public funeral Wilkie should have had. The painting was criticised for the blackness of its sails. Turner replied that he wished he could have made them blacker. </p>
</div>

Display caption
2023-10-25T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>399. </b>[<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-peace-burial-at-sea-n00528" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00528</span></a>]<b> Peace—Burial at Sea</b> Exh. 1842</p>
<p>THE TATE GALLERY, LONDON (528)</p>
<p>Canvas, 34 1/4 × 34 1/8 (87 × 86·5); partly painted up to frame, approx 33 1/4 × 34 (84·5 × 86·5), with corners cut across at approx. 8 3/4 (22) from corners of canvas.</p>
<p><b>Coll.</b> Turner Bequest 1856 (42, ‘Burial at sea’ 2'9" × 2'9"); transferred to the Tate Gallery 1910.</p>
<p><b>Exh.</b> R.A. 1842 (338); Manchester 1887 (623); Amsterdam 1936 (162, repr.); <i>Golden Gate Exhibition</i> San Francisco 1939; exchange loan to the Louvre, Paris, 1950–59; <i>Victorian Artists in England</i> National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, March–April 1965 (150, repr.); New York 1966 (24, repr. p. 30); Edinburgh 1968 (18, repr.); Dresden (16, repr. in colour) and Berlin (26, colour pl. 13) 1972; Lisbon 1973 (18, repr. in colour); R.A. 1974–5 (521, repr.); Leningrad and Moscow 1975–6 (64, detail repr.); Hague 1978–9 (xviii, repr.); Munich 1979–80 (367, repr.); Tate Gallery 1982 (not in catalogue; see Hackney 1982 under ‘Lit’ below); Paris 1983–4 (70, repr.); Birmingham 1984.</p>
<p><b>Lit.</b> Cunningham 1852, p. 26; Ruskin 1857 (1903–12, xiii, pp. 159–60); Thornbury 1862, i, p. 346; ii, pp. 182–3; 1877, pp. 171, 323–5, 465; Hamerton 1879, p. 292; Monkhouse 1879, p. 128; Bell 1901, p. 145 no 234; Armstrong 1902, pp. 153–4, 226, repr. facing p. 154; MacColl 1920, p. 21; Falk 1938, p. 161; Davies 1946, p. 186; Clark 1949, p. 106; Clare 1951, 107, repr. p. 110; Finberg 1961, pp. 390–91, 507 no. 548; Rothenstein and Butlin 1964, pp. 68–70, pl. 120; Gowing 1966, pp. 27–31, 38, repr. p. 30; Lindsay 1966, pp. 202–3; 1966<sup>2</sup>, p. 52; Brill 1969, pp. 241–31, repr. in colour at end and, detail, p. 31; Gage 1969, pp. 109, 186, 191, 260 n. 83, 269 n. 10; Reynolds 1969, p. 187, colour pl. 159; Gaunt 1971, p. 11, colour pl. 45; Herrmann 1975, pp. 50, 234, colour pl. 174; William Walling, ‘More than Sufficient Room: Sir David Wilkie and the Scottish Literary Tradition’, Kroeber and Walling 1978, pp. 107–9, pl. 42; Wallace 1979, pp. 112– 13, pl. 10; Wilton 1979, pp. 210–11, 216, pl. 230; Gage 1980, p. 231; Wilton 1980, p. 143; Stephen Hackney (ed), <i>Completing the Picture</i>, 1982, pp. 52–6, repr. in colour and with detail in raking light; Paulson 1982, pp. 65–6, 94, 96.</p>
<p>Exhibited in 1842 with the following lines:</p>
<p>‘The midnight torch gleamed o'er the steamer's side
<br/>And Merit's corse was yielded to the tide.’</p>
<p align="right">—<i>Fallacies of Hope</i>.</p>
<p>The <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> is a memorial to Turner's friend and erstwhile rival Sir David Wilkie who died on board the <i>Oriental</i> on the way back from the Middle East on 1 June 1841; he was buried at sea off Gibraltar at 8.30 the same evening. Turner's picture was done in friendly rivalry with George Jones, who did a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/d/drawing" title="Glossary definition for 'Drawing'"><span>drawing</span></a> of the burial as seen on deck. Jones reported that Clarkson Stanfield objected to the darkness of the sails; ‘I only wish I had any colour to make them blacker’, replied Turner, who may also have been alluding to Wilkie's marked use of black in his later pictures. Gage (exh. cat., Paris 1983–4) sees the black bird in the foreground, whose wings echo the black sails, as a duck or ‘mallard’ and hence a pun on Turner's second name.</p>
<p>At the R.A. the painting was paired with <i>War. The Exile and the Rock Limpet</i>, a picture of Napoleon on St Helena (No. 400 [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-war-the-exile-and-the-rock-limpet-n00529" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00529</span></a>) and complementary in colour, being dominated by reds. Such pairings of works of contrasted colour were also to be a feature of Turner's <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/a/academy" title="Glossary definition for 'Academy'"><span>Academy</span></a> contributions in 1843 and 1845 (see Nos. 404 [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-shade-and-darkness-the-evening-of-the-deluge-n00531" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00531</span></a>] and 405 [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-light-and-colour-goethes-theory-the-morning-after-the-deluge-moses-writing-the-book-n00532" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00532</span></a>], and 424 [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-undine-giving-the-ring-to-massaniello-fisherman-of-naples-n00549" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00549</span></a>] and 425 [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-angel-standing-in-the-sun-n00550" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00550</span></a>]). Both pictures, though painted to the full extent of the square <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/canvas" title="Glossary definition for 'Canvas'"><span>canvas</span></a>, were finished off, presumably on the R.A. walls, as octagons. No. 399 [<span>N00528</span>] is now however framed to show the full extent of the painted surface.</p>
<p>Marcia Wallace has pointed out that Turner probably derived the irregular octagonal format in which he chose to exhibit this pair of paintings from works by Claude, the <i>Pastoral <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/l/landscape" title="Glossary definition for 'Landscape'"><span>Landscape</span></a></i> (<i>Liber Veritatis</i> no. 11), a version of which belonged to Turner's patron Samuel Rogers, and the <i>Pastoral Landscape with Castel Gandolfo</i> which Turner saw and analysed in the Barberini collection when he was in Rome in 1819 (‘Remarks’ sketchbook, CXCIII-96; the picture is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge).</p>
<p>Wallace has also suggested that this pair of paintings ironically contrasts the final resting places of the popular artist Wilkie, man of peace, various memorials to whom had specifically lamented the fact that it was not possible to pay respect to his body, and Napoleon, man of war, whose ashes had just, in 1840, been brought back from St Helena for a state burial at Les Invalides.</p>
<p>As usual the critics, after praising in most instances Turner's Venetian exhibits, vented their fury on his more imaginative works. ‘He is as successful as ever in caricaturing himself, in two round blotches of <i>rouge et noir</i>’, wrote the <i>Spectator</i> for 7 May 1842. The <i>Athenaeum</i>, 14 May, felt embarrassed that foreign visitors should see such works and concluded, ‘We will not endure the music of Berlioz, nor abide Hoffmann's fantasy-pieces. Yet the former is orderly, and the latter are commonplace, compared with these outbreaks.’ A ‘Supplement’ to <i>The Times</i> for 6 May described the ship in <i>Peace</i> as ‘an object resembling a burnt and blackened fish-kettle’. Both <i>Ainsworth's Magazine</i>, June 1842, and the <i>Art Union</i>, 1 June, came out with the suggestion that the pictures would look as well turned upside down.</p>
<p>Surprisingly even Ruskin, though finally spurred on to write the first volume of <i>Modern Painters</i> by the hostility of the critics in 1842, had little to say about <i>Peace</i> (though a considerable amount about <i>War</i>) and dismissed it as ‘Spoiled by Turner's endeavour to give funereal and unnatural blackness to the sails.’</p>
<p>For a brief technical account of this picture see Hackney, <i>loc. cit.</i></p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, <i>The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner</i>, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-09-22T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
architecture astronomy birth to death burial coast countries and continents death: Sir David Wilkie, sea burial, 1 Jun 1841 emotions, concepts and ideas evening formal qualities Gibraltar history moonlight natural phenomena peace places politics and society reflection sea seascapes and coasts ship, sailing ship, steam silhouette smoke society times of the day townscape, distant townscapes / man-made features transport: water universal concepts