The Romantic Painter John Constable

Realism, Pre-Impressionism, & Pre-Raphaelites & Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

Painter, John Constable revolutionized the genre of landscape paintings with his Romantic style that became popular in the late 18th century. Even though his paintings hang in the most prestigious of galleries, and sell for millions of dollars; within his own lifetime he didn’t garner much financial success. Yet, that doesn’t mean neither he nor his work wouldn’t have any impact. In fact, his work would help define future art movements and would elevate landscape painting to be taken seriously as an art form.

When Constable painted, he painted from life and not his imagination. “When I sit down to make a sketch from nature, the first thing I try to do is to forget that I have ever seen a picture.” He would make many sketches in the wilderness before even starting the painting process.

J.M.W. is another famous Romantic landscape artist whose name is often brought up in conversation along with constable. His works and ideas were created too early in time to be fully appreciated by the public and I enjoyed viewing the evolution of his art. I admire the amount of movement he captures in colorful thin layers of oil that he uses to transform a landscape beyond what the ordinary eye can see. I wanted to look into both artists because of how closely ties together their work is. J.M.W. became more famous for his revolutionary art after his time for good reason. Yet, after completing the recent landscape assignment, I was drawn to John Constable’s work. While I do appreciate the painting style of J.M.W. Turner, I found that when painting my own landscapes I started with thin washes of paint but ended up blocking in shapes with much more opaque paint and sticking to using more opaque paint. Constable contrasted Turner in many ways, the most notable in their work would be how grounded and opaque Constable’s landscapes feel. I admire his brushwork and felt it would be more beneficial for me to study Constable’s work than another artist in hopes that I can learn to incorporate some of his techniques and ideas into my future landscapes.

Even though his landscapes are beautifully crafted, one of my favorite parts about researching John Constable ended up being his written work. I loved reading his work annotations and the letters he left behind. It gave an insight into his thought process and allowed me to further understand him and what he valued in art. For instance, Constable states “The sound of water escaping from the mill dams, etc., willows, rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things.” He talks often about his love for the countryside and enjoying the small details that add to the atmosphere. His genuine love for nature shows in his Plein air paintings and is overall really inspiring. He loved and painted nature so much that a part of the English countryside in Suffolk was named ‘Constable Country. He used painting as a way to understand his surroundings. In his own words, Constable wrote to a friend “painting is but another word for feeling”, and I think that’s a really beautiful way to look at creating art.

Work Citations:

“The Hay Wain.” The National Gallery, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/john-constable-the-hay-wain.

“John Constable.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Constable.

Lyles, Anne, and David B Brown. “’Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows’, John Constable, Exhibited 1831.” Tate, Mar. 13AD, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/constable-salisbury-cathedral-from-the-meadows-t13896.

Riggs, Terry. “’Sketch for ‘Hadleigh Castle”, John Constable, C.1828–9.” Tate, Feb. 1998, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/constable-sketch-for-hadleigh-castle-n04810.

“Unearthed John Constable Drawings Sell for £92K.” BBC News, BBC, 6 Mar. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-47470069.

Image Citations:

“The Hay Wain.” The National Gallery, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/john-constable-the-hay-wain.

Lyles, Anne, and David B Brown. “’Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows’, John Constable, Exhibited 1831.” Tate, Mar. 13AD, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/constable-salisbury-cathedral-from-the-meadows-t13896.

Riggs, Terry. “’Sketch for ‘Hadleigh Castle”, John Constable, C.1828–9.” Tate, Feb. 1998, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/constable-sketch-for-hadleigh-castle-n04810.

“Weymouth Bay: Bowleaze Cove and Jordon Hill.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weymouth_Bay:_Bowleaze_Cove_and_Jordon_Hill.

“The White Horse.” Art Object Page, https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1146.html.