J. M.W Turner, born in 1775, had a career at a young age. By 18, he owned his own studio and a few years later, was elected as an associate of the Royal Academy. Later in his life, in 1842, Turner painted Peace: Burial at Sea. It depicts the burial of Turner's friend and fellow member of the Royal Academy, David Wilkie, who died in 1841.

In the autumn of 1840, Wilkie embarked on a trip to the East, on his way passing through Holland and Germany, eventually reaching Constantinople. He then sailed for Smyrna and traveled to Jerusalem. Along this journey, Wilkie produced several works including a portrait of the young sultan at Constantinople, and, his last painting ever, a portrait of Mehemet Ali, which was done at Alexandria. Once on his way back, Wilkie became ill at Malta, and on the morning of June 1, 1841 he died at sea, just off of Gibraltar, located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. 

His body was buried at sea in the deep Bay of Gibraltar after officials at the British port refused to accept his body, fearing that he might have had cholera.Peace: Burial at Sea is Turners tribute to David Wilkie. In this painting, Turner’s skill of contrasting light and dark and his excellent use of shading are shown. He depicts the scene with a dark background, appropriate for the funeral of his friend, contrasted with the bright and explosive colors that Wilkie’s body is being lowered into.

Turner created another painting that same year, War: The Exile and the Rock Limpet. It was intended as a companion to Peace: Burial at sea. War: The Exile and the Rock Limpet depicts Napoleon in exile on St. Helena. They are made to contrast each other by their colors:  pale and somber, Peace; explosive reds and yellows, War.