John Constable (;"Constable, John," Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape paintingV&A: John Constable - an introduction with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the area on the borderland of Suffolk and north Essex surrounding his home – now known as "Constable Country" – which he invested with an intensity of affection. "I should paint my own places best", he wrote to his friend John Fisher in 1821, "painting is but another word for feeling."
Constable's most famous paintings include Wivenhoe Park (1816), Dedham Vale (1828) and The Hay Wain (1821). Constable's Wivenhoe Park is widely recognized as an important work in the artist's career. Although his paintings are now among the most popular and valuable in British art, he was never financially successful. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts at the age of 52. His work was embraced in France, where he sold more than in his native England and inspired the Barbizon school.
Early career
John Constable was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour in Suffolk, to Golding and Ann (Watts) Constable.John Constable was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour in Suffolk, to Golding Constable, a wealthy corn merchant and Ann (Watts) Constable. Delphi Collected Work of John Constable, 2015, page 14. His father was a wealthy corn merchant, owner of Flatford Mill in East Bergholt and, later, Dedham Mill in bordering Essex. Golding Constable owned a small ship, The Telegraph, which he moored at Mistley on the Stour estuary, and used to transport corn to London.Constable's father — Golding Constable was a wealthy corn merchant, owner of Flatford Mill in East Bergholt and, later, Dedham Mill in Essex. He owned a small ship, The Telegraph, which he moored at Mistley on the Stour estuary, which he used to transport corn to London. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable, 2015, page 14 He was a cousin of the London tea merchant, Abram Newman. Although Constable was his parents' second son, his older brother was intellectually disabled and John was expected to succeed his father in the business. After a brief period at a boarding school in Lavenham,[he] was transferred later to an establishment in the pretty, little town of Lavenham, where he suffered much at the hands of a flogging usher. Holmes, Charles John (1901), Constable, The Sign of the Unicorn, VII Cecil Court, St.Martin's Lane, London he was enrolled in a day school in Dedham, Essex.After a brief period at a boarding school in Lavenham, he was enrolled in a day school in Dedham. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition. Constable worked in the corn business after leaving school, but his younger brother Abram eventually took over the running of the mills.Constable worked in the corn business after leaving school, but his younger brother Abram eventually took over the running of the mills. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.
In his youth, Constable embarked on amateur sketching trips in the surrounding Suffolk and Essex countryside, which was to become the subject of a large proportion of his art.In his youth, Constable embarked on amateur sketching trips in the surrounding Suffolk and Essex countryside, which in later years would inspire the majority of the subject matter of his canvases. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition. These scenes, in his own words, "made me a painter, and I am grateful"; "the sound of water escaping from mill dams etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things." He was introduced to George Beaumont, a collector, who showed him his prized Hagar and the Angel by Claude Lorrain, which inspired Constable.At this time, he was introduced to George Beaumont, an art collector that showed the aspiring artist, amongst his many other treasures, his prized painting Hagar and the Angel by Claude Lorrain, which would have a profound influence on Constable. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable, p.15 Later, while visiting relatives in Middlesex, he was introduced to the professional artist John Thomas Smith, who advised him on painting but also urged him to remain in his father's business rather than take up art professionally.
In 1799, Constable persuaded his father to let him pursue a career in art, and Golding granted him a small allowance. Entering the Royal Academy Schools as a probationer, where he came under the tutelage of Joseph Farington, he attended life classes and anatomical dissections, and studied and copied old masters. Constable together with fellow Farington protégé, Samuel Lane worked closely with Farington to develop their own styles until Farington death in 1821. Among works that particularly inspired him during this period were paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, Claude Lorrain, Peter Paul Rubens, Annibale Carracci and Jacob van Ruisdael.Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition. He also read widely among poetry and sermons, and later proved a notably articulate artist.
In 1802 he refused the position of drawing master at Great Marlow Military College (now Sandhurst), a move which Benjamin West (then master of the RA) counselled would mean the end of his career. In that year, Constable wrote a letter to John Dunthorne in which he spelled out his determination to become a professional landscape painter:
His early style has many qualities associated with his mature work, including a freshness of light, colour and touch, and reveals the compositional influence of the old masters he had studied, notably of Claude Lorrain. Constable's usual subjects, scenes of ordinary daily life, were unfashionable in an age that looked for more romantic visions of wild landscapes and ruins. He made occasional trips farther afield.
By 1803, he was exhibiting paintings at the Royal Academy. In April he spent almost a month aboard the East Indiaman as it visited south-east ports while sailing from London to Deal before leaving for China.In 1803, Constable exhibited at the Academy two "Landscapes" and two "Studies from Nature"; and in April he made a trip from London to Deal, in the Coutts, East Indiaman, with Captain Torin, a friend of his father. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 429). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.
In 1806 Constable undertook a two-month tour of the Lake District. He told his friend and biographer, Charles Robert Leslie, that the solitude of the mountains oppressed his spirits, and Leslie wrote:
Constable adopted a routine of spending winter in London and painting at East Bergholt in summer. In 1811 he first visited John Fisher and his family in Salisbury, a city whose cathedral and surrounding landscape were to inspire some of his greatest paintings.
To make ends meet, Constable took up portraiture, which he found dull, though he executed many fine portraits. He also painted occasional religious pictures but, according to John Walker, "Constable's incapacity as a religious painter cannot be overstated."
Another source of income was country house painting. In 1816, he was commissioned by Major-General Francis Slater Rebow to paint his country home, Wivenhoe Park, Essex. The Major-General also commissioned a smaller painting of the fishing lodge in the grounds of Alresford Hall, which is now in the National Gallery of Victoria.NGV Constable used the money from these commissions towards his wedding with Maria Bicknell. This period of Constable's painting is heavily populated with idyllic country scenes with heavy detail, notably his 1816 work The Wheat Field.
Marriage
From 1809, his childhood friendship with Maria Elizabeth Bicknell developed into a deep, mutual love. Their marriage in 1816 when Constable was 40 was opposed by Maria's grandfather, Dr. Rhudde, rector of East Bergholt. He considered the Constables his social inferiors and threatened Maria with disinheritance. Maria's father, Charles Bicknell, solicitor to George IV and the Admiralty,Information from Constable's gravestone was reluctant to see Maria throw away her inheritance. Maria pointed out to John that a penniless marriage would detract from any chances he had of making a career in painting. Golding and Ann Constable, while approving the match, held out no prospect of supporting the marriage until Constable was financially secure. After they died in quick succession, Constable inherited a fifth share in the family business.
John and Maria's marriage in October 1816 at St Martin-in-the-Fields (with Fisher officiating) was followed by time at Fisher's vicarage and a honeymoon tour of the south coast. The sea at Weymouth and Brighton stimulated Constable to develop new techniques of brilliant colour and vivacious brushwork. At the same time, a greater emotional range began to be expressed in his art. While on honeymoon, Constable began to experiment with works exploring nature's grandeur, characterized by dominating skies, such as Osmington Bay.
Constable was passionate about his objective of painting truthful pictures of nature and he usually painted on location (en plain air). But during all of his early career, he was unable to persuade others of their value. At the time, landscapes were not considered an "important" category, at the same level of historical or mythological themes. Also, the small size of his canvases made them easy to miss in the Royal Exhibition, with walls filled from ceiling to floor with larger and more imposing paintings. In 1804 he did not present any paintings, sharing his frustrations with his friend Joseph Farington, noting that nothing could be gained by putting his pictures 'in competition with works which are extravagant in colour & bad taste wanting truth. Even though since the start of his career in the early 19th century he compared himself with Turner, it would be many years until anybody else did. That changed the moment he started painting his famous 'six-footers'.
The 'Six-Footers'