2-979-078 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

"The Goddess of Discord in the Garden of the Hesperides",1806, painted by J.W.M. Turner, R.A. - in the Marlborough House Gallery, 1857. 'This picture is full of grand invention...the Immortals are given with all the beauty and grace of the tangible flesh and blood of those delicious southern regions...A dragon is a piece of machinery that either tells with great effect or provokes ridicule. Here this daring feat is successful. We do not deride, but curiously examine, the vaguely-defined monster, guardian of the fruit, who was destined in the sequel to be destroyed by Hercules; and we admit that one of the most difficult feats of painting has been accomplished. This work stands at the threshold of Turner's so-called classical style...Future ages and distant nations will not easily forget to note how high he flew and how long he continued on the wing! We understand that this picture is here engraved for the first time'. From "Illustrated London News", 1857.