Suffer a sea-change: Turner, painting, drowning

This paper reflects upon the implications of J.M.W. Turner’s close and varied attention to the depiction of sea-water. In particular, Turner’s ability to suggest the liquid depths and gravitational force of the sea – most particularly in Snow Storm – Steam Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth – is read as a means by which alternative forms of sublime experience might be conveyed, ones in which drowning rather than ascendancy are at stake.