The Battle of Trafalgar (1824) : This masterpiece depicts a scene from the Battle of Trafalgar, a naval battle fought between the British and Franco-Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar in southwest Spain. The British had twenty-seven ships to the thirty-three of the Franco-Spanish fleet. Despite this, the British came out as decisively victorious and captured or destroyed nineteen of the Franco-Spanish ships. In this 'History Painting', Turner took several moments from the battle, across several days, and merged them into one moment in one scene.This then represents Turner's desire to take the battle and use it to create something of general, philosophical, and national significance. This aspect, along with the pyramidal composition reference triumph and sacrifice reaffirm this work's place as a history painting, despite it not depicting one scene from ancient history, religion, or mythology. *JMW (Joseph Mallord William) TURNER (1775-1851) was one of the most important English Romantic Painters of the 19th century. He is known for his expressive colourisations, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings. Turner's imagination was sparked by shipwrecks, fires, and natural phenomena such as sunlight, storm, rain, and fog. He was fascinated by the violent power, turbulence and tidestorms of the sea. It's said that his last words before death were, 'The Sun is God!'