Major exhibition of Turner works to open in Dublin

Late one evening in 1840, a young man sat down, eager to confide in his diary. That day he had finally met the great artist he had defended, quite famously, from a critical onslaught.

The reviewer was John Ruskin - and the painter, probably the finest English artist of all - now as well as then - was Joseph Mallord William Turner, an original, an innovator and an enduring influence. Here is the undisputed master of light and colour, whose genius is both classical and supremely modern. To look at the work of Monet or Rothko is to witness the presiding spirit of Turner.

Tomorrow sees the dawning of a new year, and it also marks the beginning of an annual winter ritual begun more than a century ago. Throughout the month of January, when the light is at its weakest, a unique collection of Turner watercolours are exhibited at the National Gallery of Ireland.

To view them is comparable to a visit to Newgrange. For more than a century, visitors have come to the gallery to view these graceful works bequeathed in 1900 by English Quaker art connoisseur Henry Vaughan, whose long life - he lived until he was 90 - was dominated by his love of art.

His generosity to Ireland had only one stipulation - Vaughan insisted that the 31 pictures were only viewed in January. To enter the gallery's print room is to experience the serenity evoked by these watercolours. Turner was a dramatic artist. He was a revolutionary colourist who happened to live in radical times.

Born in 1775, six years after Napoleon, Turner's career ran parallel and beyond that of the emperor. His paintings are so beautiful and dramatic that it is easy to overlook their historical and political content. His powerful seascapes alone tell the story of Britain as a major European sea power. Above all, Turner was an artist who understood the fury of nature; he could see the lyricism of light playing in the heavens but he certainly grasped the rage of an angry sea.

He was also a tireless tourist, who investigated Europe in an age during which travel was difficult, at times an ordeal. But Turner was determined, undertaking 56 trips which filled more than 300 sketchbooks containing about 10,000 sketches, drawings and other studies. Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy - most memorably Venice - excited his love of dramatic scenery and the changing light.

Politics initially dictated his travels. As a young man he travelled throughout England, Scotland and Wales and viewers have often commented on how well he knew his country. This is true but there was a reason - in an era of war and revolution, continental Europe was a dangerous place.

By 1817, the Napoleonic Wars had ended and it was safe to travel; an eager Turner made up for lost time. Just as the political revolutions had impacted on him, so did the emerging revolution in travel. Turner lived to see horse-drawn transport and sailing vessels replaced by steam boats and rail. The transport revolution assisted him greatly and it was from this period that he began visiting Germany, Austria and Italy.

This outspoken, increasingly eccentric son of a London wigmaker was always destined for greatness. Turner grew up in the Covent Garden area of London and was fortunate that his father noted the boy's talent and encouraged it. For the young Turner, there was no battle to prove himself. Self belief helped shape him; genius did the rest.

A self-portrait painted in 1798 when he was about 23 or 24 - there is some debate about Turner's age - reveals a confident artist who was already an associate of the Royal Academy, becoming a full academician in 1802.

The Vaughan Bequest watercolours highlight an important dimension of his work, yet Turner was a professional artist whose life's work would eventually extend to more than 500 completed oil paintings. He left about 200 uncompleted oils, while there are also thousands of finished watercolours and watercolour sketches. Themes for his majestic oils include the famous seascapes and landscapes but there are also classical scenes of antiquities and mythological narratives.

Turner never married although he was the father of two daughters by one woman and was given to sporadic relationships. His mother died insane when he was already famous and her death was largely ignored by him and his father, with whom he lived until the old man died aged 85. Turner lived on until December 19th, 1851, dying when he was 76. Anthony Bailey's near definitive biography, Standing in the Sun - a Life of JMW Turner, was published in 1997. It is obvious from it that Turner's work was his life and he was always busy in his messy studio.

The January exhibitions have often explored specific socio-historical themes pertinent to the artist's work and times, including "Turner and the Sea", "Turner and Travel" and "Turner and the Traditionalists", which placed his works against those of his contemporaries.

This year's show is exhibiting only the works of the Vaughan Bequest - the National Gallery holds an additional six including the Castellated Rhine(1832), bequeathed by Lady Beit in 2000.

Although difficult to select a favourite, Passau, Germany at the Confluence of the Rivers Inn and Danube(1840); The Doge's Palace and Piazzetta(c.1840) and The Grand Canal, Venice(c.1840) are brilliant representations of Turner the inspired - and inspiring - traveller; while dramatic works such as A Ship against the Mew Stone, At the Entrance to Plymouth Sound(c.1814) and A Shipwreck off Hastings(c.1828) reveal Turner as a masterful interpreter of the sea in all its fury.

A Light in the Darknessruns at the National Gallery until January 31st.