War. The Exile and the Rock Limpet is anoil painting of 1842 by the EnglishRomantic painterJ. M. W. Turner (1775–1851). Intended to be a companion piece to Turner'sPeace - Burial at Sea,War is a painting that depicts a moment fromNapoleon Bonaparte's exile atSaint Helena. In December 1815, the former Emperor was taken by the British government to theLongwood House, despite its state of disrepair, to live in captivity; during his final years of isolation, Napoleon had fallen into despair. Turner's decision to pair the painting withPeace was heavily criticized when it was first exhibited but it is also seen as predecessor to his more famous pieceRain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway (1844).
At the conclusion of hisHundred Days,Napoleon Bonaparte, who suffered a decisive defeat at theBattle of Waterloo in June 1815, had fallen under the custody of the British after considering a bid for an escape to the United States. In December, the former Emperor was exiled toSaint Helena in the South Atlantic and housed under guard in theLongwood House, his situation worsened by the building's poor living conditions. Without any realistic hopes of escape from Saint Helena, Napoleon lived out his final days on the island until his death in 1821.[1]
J. M. W. Turner was often inspired by conflicts from the Napoleonic era: his worksThe Battle of Trafalgar (1807) andThe Fighting Temeraire are realizations of the artist's influences. Political overtones also are found in some of Turner's most famous pieces, includingSnow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps (1832). In 1840, Napoleon's ashes were returned to France for a state burial on request byLouis Philippe I, inspiring Turner to make the former Emperor the subject ofWar. The Exile and the Rock Limpet.[2]
War depicts a moment during Napoleon's exile on St. Helena. While on guard of a British sentry, a prevalent reminder of his captivity, Napoleon bows slightly to study a lone rock limpet. In his portrayal of him, Turner sought to embody the futility of war.[3] The sunset behind the figure—Turner's "sea of blood" as he described it—symbolizes the past hardships of war experienced during Napoleon's military campaigns.[4]
War debuted at theRoyal Academy of Arts besides Turner's other artworkPeace. Burial at Sea in 1842.Peace commemorates Turner's friend Scottish artistSir David Wilkie who, while on a return voyage from theFar East, died of an illness in 1841. Like its companion piece,War was painted on a smaller canvas and was exhibited in an octagonal frame design. Together,War andPeace contrast the heroic figure that was Napoleon with Wilkie's lonelyburial at sea. However,War fared poorly with critics who questioned Turner's decision to pair it withPeace, widely considered the better of the two pieces.[3] Turner's abstract approach toWar is noted as an early stepping stone toward his more well-received paintingRain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway (1844).[2]
