Joseph Mallord William Turner

This artwork features the Great Western Railway -- a railway bridge crossing over a river, and a train speeding over it while being largely obscured by rush of winds. The train in the centre is dark and rain-shrouded, surrounded by a golden natural landscape on both sides. The mist rising from the water, the rain that veils the sky, and the steam from the locomotive are blurred and mixed, unifying the painting's colours. 
 
Painted close to the end of the Industrial Revolution, the railway was one of the most lauded developments of the Industrial Age, but Turner was one of the first painters to consider such advancements as worthy subjects of art; in hindsight, this painting foreshadowed painters’ fascination with elements of modern life. Incorporating his signature swirls of steam along with a rushing sky, he conveys the impression of the train in dynamic motion, likening it to modern technology, rushing towards us. However, the turbulence of the wind in conflict with the unidirectional motion of the train may also serve as foreshadowing at the implications of modern technology competing with elements of nature.