John Constable
John Constable
(1776-1837)
His life:
- He was born on 11 June 1776 in the village of East Bergholt, Suffolk.
- In 1799 he went to London and attended the Royal Academy School.
- In 1802 he took part for the first time in the Royal Academy exhibition.
- In 1809 Constable met Maria Bicknell and fell in love with her but they were able to marry after the death of Maria's parents.
- In 1824 his first international success came to him in France, in the Paris Salon. The Hay Wain
- In 1824 he moved to Brighton.
- In 1828 his wife died.
- In 1828 he was elected to the Academy.
- On 31 March 1837 he died at the age of 61.
His works:
- He was a romantic but strongly naturalistic landscape painter.
- He was influenced by the Dutch 17th century landscape painters.
- In his style Impressionism appears. (Impressionism was a style at the end of the 19th century. The essence of it is that an artist depicts his first impressions of the things.)
- He produced numerous studies of variations of air and light.
- He wanted to describe the beauty of the nature, he liked painting the places which were the most familiar to him.
- He turned away from the pictorial conventions of the 18th century landscape painters.
The Hay Wain (1821)
- Oil on canvas.
- This painting received a gold medal in Paris.
- It describes a mid-summer day in the countryside.
- It is very realistic and lifelike.
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds (1823)
- Oil on canvas
- He visited Salisbury in 1811 and the cathedral made a great impression on him.
- He made a series of paintings of the cathedral.
- It has violent contrast between the shadows over the foreground and sharp light envelopes the cathedral.
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Cornfield (1826)
- Oil on canvas
- The countryside with its lovely valleys and peaceful farm-houses were the inspiration of his art.
- The figure of the little shepherd who is drinking harks back to the genre painting of 18th century.
- The receding background is made transparent by the light and air.
- London National Gallery
Dedham Vale (1828)
- Oil on canvas
- He was interested in the view from the hills bordering the Stour Valley.
- In this painting the magnificent sky is the real protagonist because the sky is the source of light in nature and govern everything.
- National Gallery of Scotland
The Cenotaph (1836)
- It is one of Constable's latest works.
- This painting is reflected the dark tones of autumn, the desolation of the advanced season, the memorial column.
- It is said that the stag was added later in order to bring a touch of life to the composition.
- London National Gallery
Words
cenotaph: in memory of people buried elsewhere
sketch: a draft, a drawing made very quickly and not including much detail.