Joseph
Mallord William Turner was precocious, brilliant,
and successful. Despite his success, he was
a recluse - secretive, short, and uninterested
in society. He never married, though he had
a lifelong mistress and a passionate nature.
Turner's life was devoted to painting, as evidenced
by a vast body of work, consisting of over twenty
thousand paintings, drawings, and watercolours.
Subjects that lent themselves to dramatic effect
particularly fascinated Turner. He loved Gothic
cathedrals, and he painted numerous watercolours
of them early in his career. He had a lifelong
passion for the sea and for rivers.
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