J.M.W. Turner — The Sunshine Boy

Regulus, 1828, reworked 1837
oil on canvas
Marcus Atilius Regulus was a Roman general captured by the Carthaginians who allegedly cut off his eyelids and forced him to stare into the sun until he went blind. In Turner's painting, Regulus is barely visible as a tiny figure on the right. The real protagonist here is the sun itself, which explodes out of the center of the canvas to sear the viewer's eyes, just as it did to Regulus.

• Turner Show at the National Gallery : Review