Coming into public view at the tail end of what we identify as the Romantic era, J.M.W Turner's Slave Ship makes a beautiful summation of Romantic values in stunning visual representation. The messages, the composition, and the content of the work all sum up different essential parts of the era. 

The obviosuly abolitionist sentiment demonstrated in the work was hardly against public opinion. In fact, it was upon a popular abolitionist publication ("The History and the Abolition of the Slave Trade" by Thomas Clarkson) that art historians speculate Turner's inspiration was founded. At the time, slavery and the slave trade had been abolished in England; however, it had not been abolished within her colonies. Turner utilized the existing abolitionist passion in England to attempt to persuade that sentiment to other areas across the globe. The painting clearly triggers emotional response as the viewer watches the horrors happening to the enslaved persons trapped beneath passionate waves. 

This emotional response is yet another essential component of painting in the Romantic era; the composition of the work is dedicated to drama and passion. Large, overwhelming waves dwarf nearly everything else in the scene; only on closer inspection do the viewers see the shackled limbs floating helplessly in the ship's debris. This is, of course, intended to elicit emotional and sympathetic response from the work's viewers. The painting tells a story of a ship torn apart by the merciless cea, and as a result, the traders have chosen to throw the lives of enslaved people out with the cargo. With slave trade already abhorred in England, viewers may see the destruction of the ship as condemnation from God for their inhumane actions. The drama of the clashing waves, the bold and contrasting colors, and the idea of divine punishment for the behaviors of humanity are all extremely Romantic ideals, exemplified in the work. 

But perhaps the most Romantic ideal of all is the idea of the sublime against the industrial, interwoven throughout the work. Turner's massive, all-consuming waves evoke the unstoppable abd extreme power of natural forces. Viewers stand in awe while the cold, dark, industrial ship is dashed to pieces; the man-made is left helpless at the will of godlike nature. The human figures in the work are barely seen in contrast to the overwhelming force of nature. This is the sublime; nature to be feared, revered, and beholden to, nature as the will of God himself. The destruction of man-made steamboats being destroyed at the will of nature is a common thread throughout Turner's work; it epitomizes the Romantic apprehension to industrialization and its consequences. 

(I've listed my sources here since I can't seem to figure out how to do it through COVE. I'll edit them once I can get that figured out!)