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Limekiln at Coalbrookdale This evening landscape includes highlighted figures and objects in silhouette. A bright orange, blue and white light draws the viewer's attention left of center. Two trees are silhouetted in the foreground. Continuing to the right, a small shaft of light moves down the hill illuminating two figures and two horses leading a wagon. Immediately below the large fiery light, an arched opening frames a lit interior casting light on the figure immediately to the right. Although dark, the illuminated arch is reflected in the water below. The composition is painted in somber, earthy tones, the brightest spots being the illuminated fires. Diagonally across from the fires, hints of reds appear in the right foreground. Background Lime was an important aspect in the smelting of iron ore, getting rid of its impurities. Kilns, devised to separate the mineral from the rock, created strong light, particularly in the evening. At Darby's ironworks in Coalbrookdale, strong blasts of air raised temperatures in coke-fired furnaces, melting large amounts of iron ore. Turner was interested in the effects of light - as well as the sublime aspects of nature. In this evening scene, the light forms the central focus and illuminates the workers at their tasks. Aspects of the natural landscape are subliminated to the light and its effects. The workers, who work within the mines and at the kilns, are incorporated into the land itself. Nature has been simplified to silhouettes, allowing for stronger focus on the light. What is a limekiln? Feeling stifled by ‘the prodigious piles of coal burning to coke, the furnaces, the forges, and the other tremendous objects emitting fire and smoke to an immense extent, together with the intolerable stench of the sulphur.’
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