Turner / Assmann

Thanks to a special collaboration with the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) in New Haven, Connecticut (USA), the Dordrechts Museum will present fourteen major works by Joseph Mallord William Turner starting 8 February. These works come from the renowned collection of the philanthropist Paul Mellon, which he donated to Yale University in 1966, along with a building and endowment to form the YCBA, and have never before been shown in the Netherlands. Turner visited Dordrecht in 1817 and was deeply moved by the play of light on the water and the tranquil atmosphere of the harbors. These impressions formed the basis for one of his most celebrated paintings, Dort or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat from Rotterdam Becalmed. Now, more than two centuries later, this masterpiece comes to Dordrecht—the place where it all began.

Water & Light

The exhibition presents Turner as the ultimate painter of water. The interplay of water and light was an inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration for him. He captured the beauty of picturesque rivers and confronts us with the immense power and danger of the sea. As a painter of modern life during the Industrial Revolution, Turner depicted both the promise and the dangers of water—water as both friend and foe. He was constantly aware of humanity’s vulnerable position in the face of nature’s might.

Nicky Assmann

Turner forms the first part of the diptych Water & Light. The second part brings the story into the present with artist Nicky Assmann (1980). Like Turner, she explores both the beauty and the threat of nature. Assmann creates dynamic light projections that amplify the color play of the elements by zooming in on water reflections and the glow of the sun. While visitors traditionally stand in front of a painting—where nature appears within the frame—Assmann invites them to step fully into a spatial landscape.

A Unique Experience

The exhibition shows how artists across the centuries remain fascinated by the elements of water and light. What began in the seventeenth century with Aelbert Cuyp and other Dutch painters continues in this diptych through Turner to the contemporary work of Nicky Assmann. The combination of historical masterpieces, rare Turner paintings, and groundbreaking contemporary art makes this exhibition a truly unique experience.

This exceptional exhibition is made possible by the Yale Center for British Art and the Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation.