-
X
Forgot Password

Forgot Password?
(Enter your email below.)


Cancel

Not a member?
Create your account today!

Search from over 100,000 items available at auction now


Advanced
Search
Learn how to bid
  • Add this artist to my Invaluable Auction Search Alerts

John Constable (1776-1837)

Professions: Painter; Etcher

  • John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837)

  • JOHN CONSTABLE, R.A. 1776-1837

  • John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837)

  • John Constable, RA (East Bergholt 1776-1837 London)

John Constable Biography

(b East Bergholt, Suffolk, 11 June 1776; d Hampstead, 31 March 1837). English painter and draughtsman. His range and aspirations were less extensive than those of his contemporary J. M. W. Turner, but these two artists have traditionally been linked as the giants of early 19th-century British landscape painting and isolated from the many other artists practising landscape at a time when it was unprecedentedly popular. Constable has often been defined as the great ‘naturalist’ and deliberately presented himself thus in his correspondence, although his stylistic variety indicates an instability in his perception of what constituted ‘nature’. He has also been characterized as having painted only the places he knew intimately, which other artists tended to pass by. While the exclusivity of Constable’s approach is indisputable, his concern with local scenery was not unique, being shared by the contemporary Norwich artists. By beginning to sketch in oil from nature seriously in 1808, he also conformed with the practice of artists such as Thomas Christopher Hofland (1777–1843), William Alfred Delamotte, Turner and, particularly, the pupils of John Linnell. Turner shared his commitment to establishing landscape as the equal of history painting, despite widespread disbelief in this notion. Nevertheless, although Constable was less singular than he might have liked people to believe, his single-mindedness in portraying so limited a range of sites was unique, and the brilliance of his oil sketching unprecedented, while none of his contemporaries was producing pictures resembling The Haywain (1821; London, N.G.) or the Leaping Horse (1825; London, RA). This very singularity was characteristic of British artists at a time when members of most occupations were stressing their individuality in the context of a rapidly developing capitalist economy.

Grove Art excerpts - Electronic ©2003, Oxford Art Online

Back to the Top

John Constable Related Content

  • Auction Houses

    Genres/Artists

Back to the Top

John Constable Sold at AuctionView all John Constable Sold at Auction

  • John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837), John Constable, Click for value View Details
  • View on the Thames near Battersea Bridge, with Chelsea beyond, London, John Constable, Click for value View Details
  • John Constable R.A. (1776-1837), John Constable, Click for value View Details
  • JOHN CONSTABLE, R.A. 1776-1837, John Constable, Click for value View Details
  • John Constable R.A. (British, 1776-1837), John Constable, Click for value View Details
  • John Constable, R.A., John Constable, Click for value View Details

Back to the Top

Need Full Access to Our Artist Database?

Log in or subscribe for access to: artist alerts, price estimate, auction house name, auction title, location & date, and more...

Subscribe Now

Answer your questions about your favourite artist's works and their value or bid online for your chance to own a piece by John Constable. Invaluable's John Constable artist profile page includes: John Constable biographical information, work by John Constable available at auction now, and prices realised for John Constable recently sold at auction.

  • Sign Up For Free Email Updates

Thank you!
Why not register for a
FREE account today?