Paintings: The Maas at Dordrecht,

¶ … paintings: The Maas at Dordrecht, Aelbert Cuyp, 1660 (Gallery 47, 1940.2.1) and Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1835 (Gallery 57, 1942.9.86) Both works are about ships at sea, but there their commonality stops: The first is a sunny composition calm and clear with crisp silhouette and coloring, whilst the other, although serene, has a backdrop that matches context: fires smoking, ships vanishing into smog. The first is about politics -- war actually -- the other about peace and manufacturing activity, more sordidly -- coal.

Even their techniques are opposite: Turner's knife palette scrapes into the scenery and capture it; it is dramatic and alive. Whereas the other -- the Maas -- is a polished work of art, smooth and glossy, and as calm and poised, as the other is smoky and ablaze. Cuyp's scene occurs in Holland; the ocean is the Maas in Dordrecht, and the depiction a historic event of merchant and navy ships returning men home from fighting in the Thirty Years War.

Crisp sunlight keeps the sails of the ships and the buildings (including a church) on the left and in the background in shade whilst delineating details of the ship in the foreground. The sea surrounding the ship is rippled into numerous glazed layers, and the varnished effect of the painting disseminates peace. A few people on board the ship - including a man standing straight and beating a drum - bend down to greet the dignitary in the boat below.

The dignitary is dressed in a black jacket with an orange sash. There is another boat in the background on the right, and, on the left, an approaching boat. Both are full with people. Most of the ships in the picture have their sails raised and flags aloft as though they were on a voyage. The early morning light makes many of these sails transparent.

The symbol of the scene is represented in the flags, red and white that denote the city's colors, and these colors are also worn by the figure in the boat (on his sash). Turner, in contrast, has the ships arraigned to the side and background with the moon being the centerpiece. Light slants down in an inverted orbit from the rippled sky casting a glow over the picture and providing a counterpoint between irradiation and sooty, industrial England.

There, too, is a barge -- this time a keel, and ships - here colliers - with sails raised, and, instead of the many humans being the centerpiece, as in the other paining, one single individual rows his barge alone.

This is more of a solitary scene with interplay of fire and water and rough brushstrokes (as opposed to sheer veneer of the other) scraping their way across the board and in inverted circles with splattering of white representing foam depicts the keel men transferring coals in the glow of moonlight and torchlight.

The theme of the scene is contrary to that of Cuyp's; instead of diplomatic activity and trading in luxury goods, the focus shows England's (more specifically Tyneside's) preoccupation with its coal where ferrying coal from miens up the river, colliers would transport this coal to London. As in the other painting, light provides the interpretation of the picture, but whereas ships or individuals may serve as subject of Cuyp's painting, here light serves as the subjects of Turner's.

Light from the full moon shines on the glittering water, with silhouetted ships (as in the other picture) framing the view. The other picture draws your eye to the centerpiece; here, Turner draws your eye out to sea and to the corners of the panting. Nature sweeps a clear elliptical path and becomes the centerpiece brushing ships and flame to the sides. A palette knife conveys mood and atmosphere.

Some areas, such as the silvery-white moon and the orange torchlight are painted more thickly than others, and unlike Cuyp's canvass which is smooth and polished, Turner's is rough and textured with the raised surfaces perfectly catching and representing the light and drama of the scene. Here, the paint is so thickly applied to the canvas, that the medium stands in relief and retains the mark of the brush and palette knife.

Both paintings are placed within an ocher / drab gold / metal burnished frame that excellently places the painting in relief whilst merging it with its background. The lighting of the room, oak paneled with dim but clear lighting works to the same effect. It is the painting that draws the eye whilst the background / lighting and room arrangement gives these paintings a somber therefore distinguished tone indicating their prominent place in history.

The works are typical of their ages in that attention -- the 16th century of Cuyps' painting was the start of the renaissance - has shifted to human activity, foremost of which is trading and the wealth of nations. Turner's romanticism marks the peak of Enlightenment. Politics is.