John Constable

John Constable was one of the most original artistic forces to emerge in European painting of the early 19th century. The impact of his work, like that of his near contemporary J.M.W. Turner, would continue to reverberate in Britain, and internationally, long after his death.

Born in 1776, Constable was brought up in the village of East Bergholt, in Suffolk, and the village and the surrounding countryside were to provide him with his most constant sources of artistic inspiration. His commitment to focussing on pure landscape as the principal subject of his art, unredeemed by any overt historical, religious or mythological references, combined with the idiosyncratic technique he developed to render it, challenged the artistic orthodoxies of the day and have inspired generations of artists ever since.

Constable’s works are celebrated for their detailed, atmospheric and dramatic portrayal of nature. His father, Golding Constable, a prosperous corn and coal merchant, had inherited the tenancy of Flatford Mill in 1764, and Constable found the watermill full of artistic possibilities. He was to paint more views of Flatford and its immediate surroundings than any other subject in his entire career. His painting, The Lock, sold at Christie’s in 2012 for a world auction record price of £22,441,250. This work, along with many others, shows Constable’s skill in capturing the interplay of light and atmosphere, which he referred to as the ‘chiaroscuro of nature’.

Constable’s commitment to landscape painting was seen as revolutionary at the time. He worked largely outdoors, creating sketches directly from nature, which he later transformed into finished works in his studio. His dedication to capturing the natural world as he saw it was both a rejection of the idealised landscapes popular at the time and a precursor to the later developments in the Barbizon School, the French Romantic and Impressionist movements.

John Constable died in 1837; his legacy as one of the foremost landscape painters in art history remains. His works, such as those displayed at Anglesey Abbey including his iconic portrayal of the Waterloo Bridge, continue to be celebrated for their honest representation of the English landscape, making him an enduring figure in British art.