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The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1835
Fire destroyed much of the Houses of Parliament in London on the night of 16 October 1834. According to the Cleveland Museum of Art, crowds gathered along the Thames to watch. A low tide made it hard to pump water and slowed the steamers towing fire equipment, and the blaze burned for hours.
J. M. W. Turner painted the scene the following year. The boats at lower right head towards the flames. Turner based the picture on a real event, but the museum says he exaggerated the height of the flames and used the disaster to express how helpless people are against destructive natural forces. The colour is applied in broad, bright sweeps and the atmosphere is so loose that parts almost become abstract.
Turner is said to have made watercolour studies at the scene, and he painted more than one oil version of the fire. This Cleveland painting measures 92 by 123 centimetres without its frame.
From the museum record
| Artist | Joseph Mallord William Turner |
|---|---|
| Date | 1835 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Size | Unframed: 92 x 123.2 cm |
| Museum | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| Credit line | Bequest of John L. Severance |
| Accession number | 1942.647 |
| Licence | Open Access (CC0) |
Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art collection record. Facts such as dates, sizes and credit lines come from that record. The write-up above was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the museum record and standard references. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
