Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the Two Cultures

by Eric R. Kandel

In Snowstorm, figurative elements are so reduced as to be practically nonexistent. Gone are the clearly delineated clouds, sky, and waves; the ship is merely suggested by the line of its mast. The distinction between sea and sky is barely perceptible, yet the viewer senses the towering masses of water, the sweep of wind and rain pounding the ship with terrible ferocity, the powerful, spiraling arrangement of dark and light. By conveying the overwhelming power of movement in nature without the use of clearly defined forms, Turner evokes an even stronger emotional response in Snowstorm than he did in Calais Pier. The English literary critic, philosopher, and painter William Hazlitt (1778–1830), who greatly admired Turner, referred to his later work as “atmospheric” and “all without form.”