Folie 1

1

• Impact of Cataract on the Later Paintings of
  WilliamTurner
• Sibylle Scholtz1, Gerd U. Auffarth2
• 1Institute for History of Medicine, 2University
  Eye Clinic, University Heidelberg, Germany

Introduction
William Turner was one of the most famous
artists his paintings inspired generations of
painters and viewers. The changes in style of his
later paintings can be interpreted as the effect
of proceeding cataract(1, 2, 3, 4). This poster
shows the influence of cataract progression in
the work of William Turner.
Joseph Mallord William Turner, self portrait
(circa 1799)0
No financial interests
2
Introduction
As one of the most famous painters of Romanticism
William Tuner is world wide known for his
paintings of sky, light and water he is
commonly known as the painter of light(5, 6,
8). He left more than 20.000 paintings to the
British State by which we can follow the
development and progression of his cataract (10,
11).
Fishermen at the Sea (1796)I
3
Turners professional development
Born in London on April, 23th 1775 he started
already at the age of 12 painting landscapes. At
the age of 14 he entered the Royal Academy of Art
and was accepted into the academy a year
later. Due to the political situation at that
time international traveling was difficult. From
1802 on Turner made several journeys to the
continent (5, 6).
Crossing the Brook (1815)II
As he grew older, Turner became more eccentric.
He had few close friends except for his father.
After his father's death in 1829 he was subject
to bouts of depression. He never married,
although he had two daughters.
4
Turners professional development
When he died on December, 19th 1851, he was an
internationally well accepted, but also
controversial considered figure and
painter. His style in painting probably laid
the foundation for Impressionism.
St. Peter (1819)III
5
William Turners cataract
Like many other paintings by Turner also
Regulus (IV) was an antique theme. Here Turner
understood glare as pathological process for
the first time According to myth Regulus eye
lids were cut off by the Romans as he refused
being the messenger and to negotiate with the
conquered Carthaginians.
Regulus (1828)IV
It is not known if Turner (then aged 53) was
already affected by cataract.
6
William Turners cataract
As William Turner died at the age of 76 - and as
it is not mentioned that he underwent cataract
surgery - he probably suffered from the
characteristics of mature cataract finally.
Hero and Leander (1837)V
7
William Turners cataract progression over time
1815
1819
1828
1796
1837
1845
1844
1843
8
William Turners cataract
In his later paintings brown and yellow dominated
his work, an increasing loss in contrast can be
observed (V, VI, VII, VIII).
This surely contributes to the assumption of
cataract in William Turner. It is not known if
Turner was aware of his disease (1, 4).
Rain, Steam and Speed (1844)VII
Sunrise with Sea Monster (1845)VIII
Light and Colour (1843)VI
The impact of the opacification of the
crystalline lens can be brought into close
connexion with cataract Progression in loss of
details and changing of colours can be tracked
down to progression of cataract (1, 3, 4).
9
Conclusions
In the later paintings of William Turner the
impact of cataract can easily be observed Less
details and the preference for yellow and brown
colours can be seen (V, VI, VII, VIII).
Early paintings of William Turner were rich in
details and all colours were used (0, I, II,
III).
68
21
40
53
62
44
70
69
Development of colour deficiency seen in a
chronological series of Turners pictures
according to the age of the artist
10
Conclusions
As cataract surgery at that time was a dangerous
treatment William Turner decided not to undergo
this procedure. As he was a very prolific
painter we have the chance to observe the
progression of the influence of cataract in a
great painters perception.
It is said that his last words were The sun is
God(9).
Turner in his studio (2nd quarter of 19th
century)VIII
References (1)Trevor-Roper, P., Der veränderte
Blick. Über den Einfluss von Sehfehlern auf Kunst
und Charakter, dtv 2001 (2)Schiendorfer, A.,
Erkundungen auf den letzten Kontinenten, Credit
Suisse Bulletin, 02/2006 (3)Dahm, R., Die Welt
mit anderen Augen malen, MaxPlanckForschung,
02/2006 (4)Scholtz, S., Augenblick! Geschichte
und Geschichten rund ums Auge, VDM 2007
(5)Finberg, A. J., The life of J. M. W. Turner,
Clarendon Press, Oxford 1961 (6)Wilton, A.,
Turner und seine Zeit, Hirmer, 1987 (7)Shanes,
E. Turner, Aquarelle, Hirmer, 2001 (8)Powell,
C., Turners Rivers of Europe, The Rhine, Meuse
and Mosel, Tate Gallery, 1991 (9)Davies, N.,
Europe A history, Pimlico 1997
(10)www.tate.org.uk (11)www.nationalgallery.org.u
k All pictures from Public Domain Source
(wikipedia).