There has only ever been one portrait of JMW Turner ever produced and this is his self portrait painted in 1799 depicting a 24 year old man face frontal. No one really knows what Turner would have looked

There has only ever been one portrait of JMW Turner ever produced and this is his self portrait painted in 1799 depicting a 24 year old man face frontal. No one really knows what Turner would have looked like and this curiosity stirred me to create a rendition of his self portrait in my own hyperrealist style with the aim of bringing Turner back to life so the viewer can see the structure of his skin created with very fine brush marks and the single strands of his hair and veins in his eye.

Such fine detail will give the viewer the opportunity to become engrossed in the painting and therefore will be told a story of his life by the marks that make up his skin, hair and clothing… the addition of hands and a rose (rosa Fighting Temeraire) to the original portrait as to depict of the occasion the event has been created for.

There will also be a very faint reflection of The Fighting Temeraire in his eyes to give the impression he is looking at the painting the rose was named after. The idea is to resurrect Turner so as people viewing the painting for centuries to come will be able to have a detailed depiction of what JMW Turner would have looked like if he was seen by that viewer in real life at that moment in time.

The rendition was brought at an auction held in margate, kent.