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JOHN CONSTABLE

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 3. John Constable

John Constable
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 * Biography
 * Paintings
   * The Hay Wain
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   * The Cornfield
   * Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds
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   * Dedham Lock and Mill
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by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000


JOHN CONSTABLE IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS LANDSCAPE PAINTERS IN EUROPEAN ART
HISTORY.


INSPIRED BY THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE

Suffolk-born Constable helped to draw attention to the beauty of this part of
the UK. His career was almost entirely devoted to landscape painting, similarly
to the work of fellow Brit, JMW Turner.

Constable held a deep love for his surrounding countryside, and this passion was
the drive behind his own romantic style. Few artists have been as connected to
their artistic inspiration as Constable, the likes of Albert Bierstadt in the US
being one such example.


ROLE IN THE ROMANTICIST MOVEMENT

The Romanticists played a significant role in establishing landscape painting as
a academically respected art form, when previously the likes of allegorical or
portraits had ruled the roost almost entirely.

Turner, Constable and others like French painter Eugene Delacroix would
underline the qualities found within this expressive movement.

As the artist's confidence and financial security grew, he was more willing to
travel outside of his East Anglian bubble to capture other British locations in
his work. His work continued to be typically English in style, though, just with
alternative beauty spots made use of - see Salisbury Cathedral, Hampstead Heath
and Waterloo Bridge for example.


SWITCH TO LONDON

Constable's time in London was a necessary evil that brought him many new
contacts which would help him to develop his reputation - opportunities which
simply would not have come his way in rural Suffolk. Besides those regions, he
also spent time in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and the South West.

His original inspiration, the surrounding areas of childhood Suffolk, Dedham
Vale, has now become known as 'Constable Country', a fitting tribute to an
influential artist. It reminds us of American mountains being named after
several different members of the Hudson River School, such as Thomas Cole and
Albert Bierstadt.

Aside from classic oil paintings such as The Hay Wain, there were also other
career highlights which took in alternative media. Many stunning pencil and ink
sketches remain, plus multiple etchings. The strong draughting skills also
provided the basis behind his elaborate oil work.




RISE OF BRITISH ART ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

The impact felt internationally by the work of Turner and Constable have placed
them at the forefront of British art history, joined by the Young British
Artists of the 20th century, as well as Pre-Raphaelites such as John William
Waterhouse and John Everett Millais.

Constable's work would initially receive a warmer reception in France, where the
artist would receive various awards for his contributions to landscape art. This
perhaps reflects how the French were more modern in outlook at this time.

France's own master of landscapes, Claude Monet, was known to have been
influenced, in part, by the work of British Romanticists like Constable and
Turner. They themselves had taken in elements from Claude Lorrain, ensuring a
persistent to-and-thro of artistic ideas between the two countries.


CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

The Hay Wain remains the most famous of all his paintings, and was well
deserving of the Gold Medal awarded to Constable by Charles X. It captures the
quintessential sleepy English countryside, and serves as his signature artwork,
as Whistlejacket did for George Stubbs and Fighting Temeraire had for William
Turner.

Constable spent sometime teaching others of both his technical skills and also
more on the mind behind it. He would encourage others to paint from their
imagination, rather than just their eyes. What had gone before or been seen
before should not dictate your future work.

This approach was fundamental to differentiating Romanticist artists like
Constable from those of the Realist movement, such as Repin and Bouguereau.

Some of the artist's other mediums would demonstrate even more creativity and
artistic vigour. His watercolours and sketches, for example, had more aggressive
brush and pencil work as compared to his finished oil paintings.

Constable would spend time studying atmospheric changes to his Suffolk skyline.
His artwork would aim to capture the changes across seasons, and allow
scientific research into whatever he uncovered.

The artist would use shorter, more abrupter strokes to capture the feeling of
aggressive weather. His use of light would also be crucial here. Constable would
sometimes work outside to best capture these scenes, which was unusual for
landscape painters at that time.

One helpful aspect for followers of his career were notes that he would often
pencil in on the back of his artwork. For example, with his weather study
pieces, he might include information such as date, wind direction and
approximate humidity.

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ARTICLE AUTHOR



Tom Gurney in an art history expert. He received a BSc (Hons) degree from
Salford University, UK, and has also studied famous artists and art movements
for over 20 years. Tom has also published a number of books related to art
history and continues to contribute to a number of different art websites. You
can read more on Tom Gurney here.

FAMOUS PAINTINGS

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 * The Boulevard Montmartre at Night

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