| Peace – Burial at Sea | |
| Artist: | J. M. W. Turner |
| Year: | 1842 |
| Medium: | Oil on canvas |
| Height Metric: | 87 |
| Width Metric: | 86.7 |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| Museum: | Tate Britain |
| City: | London |
Peace – Burial at Sea is an oil painting on canvas by the English Romantic artist J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), first exhibited in 1842. The painting serves as a memorial tribute to Turner's contemporary, the Scottish painter Sir David Wilkie (1785–1841), depicting Wilkie's burial at sea. It was intended as a companion piece to War. The Exile and the Rock Limpet (also 1842) which alludes to the sordid demise of the former Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte (thus "War" and "Peace").[1] [2] The two works are characterized by their sharply contrasting colours and tones: War utilizes a strident yellow and red while Peace is painted a cool blend of white, blue and black. [3]
The painting was part of the Turner bequest gifted by the artist to the British nation in 1859, and is now in the permanent collection of Tate Britain.[4]
The post-hardcore British band Peace Burial at Sea take their name from the painting.[5]
In July of 2013, the National Gallery of Australia physically recreated the painting in real time with live action inclusive of a ship in Sydney Harbour in conjunction with the exhibit at the museum Turner from the Tate: The Making of a Master.[6]