Throughout the years, TateBritain has housed some of the most famous artworks, not only from the most renowned British artists, but also a whole host of notable international artists. Currently being displayed at the Gallery is one of Britain’s most notorious artists: J.M.W Turner.

The exhibition itself displays Turner’s changing styles of painting, as the world around him transformed, with Britain entering its first industrial revolution as he broke into adolescence, hence the apt naming of the exhibition.

From his own self-portraiture to his notorious depictions of naval vessels, this exhibition provides the visitor with a wide scope of the life of Turner, and his fluctuating styles of painting as he, and Britain, progressed as a whole. Located in the centre of the exhibition, directly aligned with the entrance to the gallery, is possibly one of Turner’s most noticeable, yet lesser-known pieces: “Rome, from the Vatican. Raffaelle, Accompanied by La Fornarina, Preparing his Pictures for the Decoration of the Loggia”.

Its two by four metre frame encompasses nearly an entire wall, and sits perfectly before a set of several benches, for viewers to sit and indulge in this spectacle of a painting. What becomes immediately noticeable is the contrast between light levels in the foreground and background of the painting, creating an immersive and eerily realistic experience that envelopes the viewer in the spectacular view. Turner has depicted a visceral and beautiful landscape of Rome, from a view only of his own, perfectly encapsulating the colour, architecture and atmosphere of the ancient city in all its romantic glory. Originally exhibited in 1820, Turner had taken a truly revolutionary stance towards painting, depicting a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree panoramic view of the skyline of Rome, breaking the moulds of traditionalist landscape paintings.

Widely accepted as one of the greatest romanticist painters of his period, Tate Britain’s “Turner Exhibited: Ambition and Reputation” truly cements Turner’s highly acclaimed recognition.