Peace – Burial at Sea

Peace – Burial at Sea
ArtistJ. M. W. Turner
Year1842
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions87 cm × 86.7 cm (34 in × 34.1 in)
LocationTate Britain, London

Peace – Burial at Sea is an oil painting on canvas by the English Romantic artist J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), first exhibited in 1842. The painting serves as a memorial tribute to Turner's contemporary, the Scottish painter Sir David Wilkie (1785–1841), depicting Wilkie's burial at sea off Gibraltar. It was intended as a companion piece to War. The Exile and the Rock Limpet (also 1842) which alludes to the sordid demise of the former Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte (thus "War" and "Peace"). The two works are characterised by their sharply contrasting colours and tones: War utilises a strident yellow and red while Peace is painted a cool blend of white, blue and black.

The painting was part of the Turner bequest gifted by the artist to the British nation in 1859, and is now in the permanent collection of Tate Britain.