https://www.credit-suisse.com/corporate/de/articles/news-
and-expertise/jmw-turner-a-man-of-entrepreneurial-
instinct-201710.html
Turner-Railway-info
It’s no secret that Turner secreted a sprinting hare in the murky path of the
approaching locomotive. The artist himself pointed it out to a little boy who
visited the Royal Academy on varnishing day just as the work was about to go
on show. But how does this tiny detail ignite the meaning of Turner’s huge
meditation on encroaching technology? Why did he feel compelled to point it
out? Since antiquity the hare has symbolised rebirth and hope. The emotions
of visitors who saw the painting when it was first exhibited in 1844 were still
raw with the horror of a tragedy that had occurred on Christmas Eve two and a
half years earlier, when a train derailed 10 miles from the bridge depicted in
the painting –an accident that killed nine third-class commuters and maimed
another 16. By going small in the emblem of the hare, an artist famous for
going big transforms his painting into a poignant tribute and meditation on the
fragility of life.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190103-eight-odd-details-hidden-in-
masterpieces
Tate
