John Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk to a merchant who dealt with corn, coal, and farming on June 11, 1776. He gave a considerable amount of time and effort towards creating paintings of the nearby scenery, particularly the places that reminded him of his carefree childhood. According to him, these experiences were instrumental in shaping his career as an artist. Despite being the second-born, Constable was seen as the natural heir to his father’s trade since his older brother was mentally challenged. Following a short stint at a boarding school located in Lavenham, he began attending a day school in Dedham. After completing his education, Constable ventured into the corn industry. However, the managerial responsibilities of the mills were eventually handed over to his younger sibling Abram.
Salisbury Cathedral from The Bishop`s Ground, oil painting, John Constable, 1823, England. Museum no. FA.33[O]. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Constable’s pivotal moment occurred in 1795 when he encountered Sir George Beaumont, an enthusiast artist and collector, who introduced him to a stunning array of masterpieces by Old Masters. He obtained a knowledge of art history and theory through his contemporary John Cranch, who gave him a catalog of recommended readings for painters, and his acquaintance John Thomas “Antiquity” Smith loaned him drawings and prints. In 1799, Constable began his journey as a painter by enrolling in the Royal Academy Schools located in London. In that very year, Constable made his debut at the Academy with his maiden landscape painting, which marked the beginning of his long-standing relationship with the institution as he continued to showcase his work there every year until his final days. Additionally, he secured a workspace that was situated across the street from his family’s residence.
Image: Daniel Gardner, ‘Portrait of John Constable’, 1796, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London / Stapleton Collection / Bridgeman Art Library
In 1802, Constable declined a position as a drawing instructor at a military academy to focus exclusively on his passion for painting landscapes and immersing himself in the natural beauty of the English countryside. In that particular year, he displayed his art for the initial time at the Royal Academy. Although he had initially dabbled in oil exploration, he chose to focus on watercolours and graphic materials for his investigations of the natural world during the initial years of this decade. His journey to the Lake District in autumn 1806 inspired him to produce exceptional artwork in various mediums. Unfortunately, his attempts to showcasethese works in 1807 and 1808 proved fruitless in captivating the public’s attention. With the exception of a trip to the Lake District for two months in 1806, Constable made it a custom to spend his summers drawing and painting in the East Bergholt area, before heading back to London for the winter. Since he was not able to secure any buyers or commissions for his landscapes, he resorted to doing portraits to increase his meager earnings. Even though he created some impressive portraits, he found the task monotonous compared to the joy he found in painting landscapes.
Old Sarum, watercolour, John Constable, 1834, England. Museum no. 1628-1888. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
He created numerous outdoor drawings, which served as the foundation for his major exhibition artworks that he developed in his studio. Although his pictures are highly sought-after nowadays, they were not warmly welcomed during his lifetime in England. Despite not being entirely successful, he achieved significant accomplishments in Paris. Constable, just like Thomas Gainsborough, was inspired by the works of Dutch painters such as Jacob van Ruisdael. Both Peter Paul Rubens and Claude’s artistic creations serve as valuable examples of color use and composition. The high level of originality in Constable’s work originates from its realistic and animated qualities.
Study of the Trunk of an Elm Tree, oil painting, John Constable, about 1821, England. Museum no. 786-1888. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Maria and her fiance, Constable, faced opposition from her grandfather, Dr Rhudde, who deemed the Constables of lower social standing. He even went so far as to issue a warning to Maria that she would be disinherited if she proceeded with the engagement. Although Golding and Ann Constable agreed to the marriage between John and Maria, they made it clear that they would not provide any financial support until Constable achieved stability. However, both Golding and Ann passed away shortly after, leaving Constable with a fifth of the family business. As newlyweds, John and Maria went on a honeymoon trip to the southern coast, where the ocean in Weymouth and Brighton inspired Constable’s innovative approach to painting with vibrant colors and lively brushwork. As he progressed, his artwork started reflecting a wider array of emotions.
Constable’s paintings in 1824 began to display fractured surfaces that conveyed optical effects resembling the authentic experience of nature. Along with an intensifying usage of vibrant and luminous hues, some have misinterpreted these attributes as a foreshadowing of Impressionism. He stopped meticulously documenting a particular location as he was traveling and sketching at multiple places during that time. In 1823, he briefly visited Salisbury and from 1824, he spent time in the popular seaside town of Brighton, where his family went for Maria’s health. It was in Brighton where Constable created a remarkable collection of oil sketches. However, a different interpretation can be made of his locations that are detached from reality and lack any depiction of farming. Constable, a staunch Tory, deliberately depicted an organized and detached society that remained unaffected by the economic downturn and agrarian uprisings that arose from the Napoleonic Wars despite the prevalent industrial and social transformations.
Full scale study for The Haywain, oil painting, John Constable, about 1821, England. Museum no. 987-1900. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Constable revolutionized the art world by promoting accurate representations of nature. He declined modern techniques of portraying landscapes, stating that the current trend of emphasizing showiness and exaggeration in art falls short of representing reality. He formulated his own unique approach to portraying reality, by faithfully transferring his observations onto a canvas. His interest was piqued by the ever-changing forms of clouds, climate, and illumination, and he made an endeavor to immortalize these fleeting instants in his artwork composed of oil sketches. He utilized big, unstructured brushstrokes to produce vivid portrayals that conveyed a general impression of his observations, rather than emphasizing intricate particulars. His drawings can be viewed as an initial forebearer of the Impressionists’ art that emerged three decades afterwards.
Constable broke away from the conventional invisible brushstrokes, which were typically anticipated in Academic art of that era, even in his finished artwork. Instead, he utilized diverse techniques to apply paint, including using a palette knife, resulting in a rough and distinctive surface on his canvases, which ultimately improved their authenticity. Constable went beyond the usual practice by incorporating a broader range of colors into his work, inspired by the vibrant tones he observed in the natural world. His reputation stems from his distinctive incorporation of unadulterated white highlights that symbolized the glint of light on the surface of water.
Brighton Beach With Colliers, oil painting, John Constable, 1824, England. Museum no. 591-1888. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
During this era, Constable focused his attention on exploring nature through watercolour and drawing instead of oil painting. He demonstrated an impressive array of artwork, including his notable piece Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831). While advocating for parliamentary reform that was seen as a threat to the church, conservatives like Constable felt uneasy. Nevertheless, he produced a painting that featured elements from his famous Hay Wain. The sense of panic is depicted through the painting’s significant variations in size. The wagon appears remarkably large in comparison to the houses, but it is still insignificant in front of the overpowering cathedral, which stands as a firm symbol of resilience while being surrounded by a rainbow in the midst of the turbulent skies.
Towards the end of his profession, Constable reduced the number of oil sketches he created outdoors. Instead, he began creating more studio sketches that were influenced by his previous outdoor drawings. In his last years, he embarked on a significant endeavor whichinvolved creating twenty mezzotints based on his paintings. Titled “Various Subjects of Landscape, Characteristic of English Scenery”, the engravings were done under his guidance by David Lucas, a lesser-known printmaker. From 1830 to 1833, a series titled as English Landscape was released and it served as an embodiment of his ideas regarding landscape painting, encapsulating the essence of his professional journey. Constable’s focus on portraying nature sets him apart from the conventional way of painting landscapes in the classical genre. Today, he is commonly regarded in conjunction with J.M.W. Turner as a celebrated artist.
Landscape with a Double Rainbow, oil painting, John Constable, 1821, England. Museum no. 328-1888. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
During a time when landscape painting was highly prevalent in British art, Constable was a notable artist in this genre. His body of work was distinctive because he typically chose not to depict locations that were frequented by tourists or fellow artists. Instead, he focused on places that held significance to his familial roots or that he encountered for personal motives. Although other artists also created oil sketches, Constable approached it with unparalleled rigor and frequency. His depictions of natural scenery exhibit an impressive ability to capture its various forms, especially the quick and intense changes of stormy skies, and also reflect a deep and prolonged contemplation of the rural life in a Britain that was experiencing a perplexing socio-economic shift.
Constable was often compared to Turner throughout his lifetime, and it’s been suggested through stories that the two had a spirited and private competition. At the beginning of his artistic journey, Turner adopted an academic approach and quickly gained acceptance into the esteemed English art community, with the guidance and support of Joshua Reynolds. Over time, his approach evolved and diverged to become more and more suggestive of impressionism. Although there are similarities in the style of Constable’s oil sketches and Turner’s later work, their intentions were different. Differing from Constable’s deliberate technique, Turner frequently selected his themes, composition, and illumination for an impactful presentation, utilizing his artwork to express opinions on current affairs and evoke strong sentiments in the audience, rather than solely aiming for a faithful depiction of reality.
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