John Constable Most Famous Paintings

What was John Constable's background?

John Constable RA was a Romantic landscape painter who lived in England. Born in Suffolk, he is best known for his paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his house - now known as "Constable Country" – which he imbued with intense devotion.

What is John Constable's claim to fame?

He is most renowned for his landscape paintings of the English countryside, notably those depicting the Stour Valley, which became known as "Constable country."

What was the significance of John Constable?

In the nineteenth century, he was responsible for resurrecting the importance of landscape painting.

What was John Constable's total number of paintings?

At least 116 paintings

What type of painter did John Constable turn out to be?

Painter of the Romantic era. The focus on emotion and individualism, romanticized notion of nature, skepticism of science and industrialization, and exaltation of the past with a strong predilection for the medieval instead of the classical were all hallmarks of Romanticism.

It was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the Age of Enlightenment's social and political standards, and the scientific rationality of nature, all of which were aspects of modernity.

Here is a list of John Constable's most famous paintings:

• The Hay Wain by John Constable
• Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows by John Constable
• The Cornfield by John Constable
• Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River) by John Constable
• Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds by John Constable
• Dedham Lock and Mill by John Constable
• Weymouth Bay: Bowleaze Cove and Jordon Hill by John Constable
• The Lock by John Constable
• Stratford Mill by John Constable
• Hadleigh Castle by John Constable
• The Leaping Horse by John Constable
• A Cottage in a Cornfield by John Constable

John Constable Artworks

The Hay Wain by John Constable

The Hay Wain, also known as Landscape: Noon, is an 1821 picture that depicts a pastoral landscape on the River Stour, which runs between the English provinces of Suffolk and Essex. It is considered "Constable's most renowned subject" and one of the greatest and most beloved English paintings, and it hangs in the National Gallery in London.

This work, is painted in oils on canvas, features three horses carrying what looks to be a wood wain or huge farm cart across the river as its prominent feature. On the far left, you can see Willy Lott's Cottage, which was also the focus of an identical picture by Constable. The scenario takes place near Flatford Mill in Suffolk, albeit the left bank of the Stour is in Suffolk and the right bank is in Essex due to the Stour's dual status as a county border.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE ART?

Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows by John Constable

This painting was a form of expression of his tumultuous emotions and shifting moods. This painting, according to Constable, finest embodied 'the complete compass' of his art. This instability is reflected in the sky, which represents his emotional state. It has been given political implications, one of which is the conflict of industry and nature, which is represented by the clash of elements.

The following are some examples of symbolism in this painting:
A gravestone is a symbol of death.
The ash tree is a symbol of life.
The church is a symbol of faith and rebirth.
The rainbow is a symbol of renewed hope.

The Cornfield by John Constable

The painting depicts a little child working as a shepherd is seen in The Cornfield. The child is cooling down in a pool as he takes a break from his work at midday in the summer heat.

From January through March 1826, he worked on the painting in his London studio. Constable intended the painting, which he titled The Drinking Boy, to be his most significant exhibited piece of the year. He also created a tiny preparatory oil sketch that has survived and depicts how the piece evolved over time.

The boy's figure, as well as his animals, are not portrayed in the background. Unlike the trees portrayed in the final painting, none of the trees in the drawing are dead. There are no confirmed sketches from the scene. Constable wanted the painting to be as botanically accurate as possible, so he asked his friend Henry Phillips for guidance on whether certain flowers are in bloom in July, the month shown in the painting. The village of Higham, which may be seen in the distance, is not visible from the lane.

Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River) by John Constable

The oil painting Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River) by English artist John Constable was completed in 1816. It is Constable's greatest outdoor exhibition canvas, the first of his huge "six-foot" works, and the first of Stour series, which later included The Hay Wain. The Tate Britain gallery in London owns and exhibits it. Oil on canvas painting of Flatford Mill (Scene on a Navigable River).

It shows two lighter barges and their crew progressing up the River Stour in Suffolk from Dedham Lock in a working rural landscape from Suffolk. The lighter barges were pulled along the river by lines tied to a horse, that had to be removed in order for the barges to be poled beneath Flatford bridge, which they are approaching.

A boy is seen detaching a rope while another sits astride a tow-horse. The back scenery displays a panoramic picture of East Bergholt village, set against a backdrop of towering trees and a stunning cloud-filled sky.

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds by John Constable

One of his most famous works is this painting of Salisbury Cathedral, one of England's most renowned medieval churches, which was requested by one of his closest friends, Bishop John Fisher of Salisbury. Since its bequest in 1857, the 1823 version of the picture has been in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

In 1811, Constable went to Salisbury and drew a series of drawings of the cathedral from the south-east, south-west, and east ends.

The artist chose a view from the bishop's garden (to the south-east) and returned in 1820 to complete more drawings and an open-air oil study, which is currently housed in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and served as the basis for the London version. At the lower left of the artwork are representations of Dr. Fisher and his wife.

Dedham Lock and Mill by John Constable

Constable's father owned and operated Dedham Mill, as well as Flatford Mill. Constable's drawing of it, which shows Dedham church on the right, was most likely painted on the spot during his long holiday in Suffolk with his wife Maria in 1817.

This piece is particularly fascinating in showing Constable's working techniques at this time because it is unfinished. Although certain portions are painted in great detail, others are merely lightly blocked in, and much of the brown canvas ground can be seen in the foreground and near the right-hand trees.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ART

Weymouth Bay: Bowleaze Cove and Jordon Hill by John Constable

Constable celebrated his honeymoon in the village of Osmington, near the beach town of Weymouth in Dorset, in October 1816. This is when the idea for this painting came to me.

The picture depicts a view of Weymouth Bay, on England's south coast, looking west. Bowleaze Cove, Jordan Hill, and the little Jordan River running over the beach are depicted in the artwork, which is framed by Furzy Cliff. The beach at Greenhill can be seen in the distance beyond that. Constable showed Osmington Shore, a larger version of the picture, at the British Institution in 1819.

BAROQUE ART CHARACTERISTICS

The Lock by John Constable

The Lock is an oil painting on canvas. It portrays a working rural scene in Suffolk, with a figure struggling to open a tunnel gate at Dedham Lock near Flatford Mill to allow a lighter barge to pass on the River Stour. Dedham church can be seen in the distance across the distinctively English water meadows. Under a tall tree and a stunning, cloud-filled sky, the setting is set.

The Lock is the fifth of six large-scale landscape paintings in Constable's Stour series, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1819 and 1825. The picture is the only one from the series that is still in private ownership, with the more well-known The Hay Wain on display at the National Gallery in London. In 1825, Constable created a duplicate of this picture known as the Foster version.

He only made one copy of a work from the Stour series, though he later copied several of his most successful compositions, such as views of Salisbury Cathedral. The Foster version, one of only three major works by Constable, is still in private ownership and was auctioned at Sotheby's London on the evening of December 9, 2015 for £9,109,000. William Orme Foster (1814–1901) of Apley Hall, Shropshire, a former High Sheriff of Shropshire, and his descendants were among the previous owners of the artwork.

FAMOUS TYPES OF ART MOVEMENTS AND STYLES

Stratford Mill by John Constable

Stratford St. Mary, about 2 miles west of East Bergholt, is the setting. The Stratford Mill, a water-powered paper mill on a tiny island just outside the village, may be seen on the far left of the photograph. Anglers at Stratford Mill (private collection) is a sketch by Constable of youngsters fishing near the mill in 1811, although this picture includes more of the river, a barge, and the meadow across the road.

Hadleigh Castle by John Constable

In 1814, John Constable paid a visit to Hadleigh Castle and sketched it. He turned it into a full-size oil sketch in preparation for a whole painting, which he completed in 1829 and presented at the Royal Academy the following year.

The drawing is on show at the Tate Gallery in London, while the completed painting is on display at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. According to art historians Tammis Groft and Mary Mackay, "one of his most gigantic works," Constable's painting depicts Hadleigh Castle as a deteriorating man-made structure surrendering to the elemental power of nature.

The Leaping Horse by John Constable

The Leaping Horse is the final picture in John Constable's series of big oil on canvas paintings showing the River Stour. The Hay Wain, a more well-known work, is also included. The final version of the Leaping Horse, which measures 1420 mm by 1873 mm, can be seen in the Royal Academy in London.

The Victoria and Albert Museum houses another oil painting sketch. A wooden bridge and barrier conceal a sluice at Float Bridge on the River Stour, where the artwork was created. The barge horse leaps over the livestock barrier designed to keep animals out of the river. On the left, there's a boat with a half-furled sail, and on the right, there's a church.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROCOCO AND BAROQUE?

A Cottage in a Cornfield by John Constable

A cottage in the center of a traditional farm near England is depicted in this artwork. It's an oil on canvas picture from 1817. It has a five-bar wooden fence that invites viewers to enjoy the fields' delicious crops. An overgrown hedge surrounds the compound, which gives way to a willow woodland on the right. Another forest is behind the cottage, and a section of the hedge separating another cornfield can be seen on the far right.

The donkey is on the left side of the gate, and the corn in the forefront is still green while the corn in the background is mature, astute observers will notice. The picture was most likely set in the summer, around July, when corn that is exposed to light ripens earlier than corn that is kept in the shade. Constable utilized a mixture of light colors for the countryside and clearly dark colors for the sky in this painting.

Water Meadows nearby Salisbury and A Country Road with Woods and Figures, both of which feature light hues for the field and dark colors for the sky, are examples of his style. Willow trees, which appear as intimidating figures in most of his works, are also seen in this artwork. The National Museum of Wales owns A Cottage in a Cornfield, which can be seen at its museums in Cardiff and Wales. It is frequently available at various art exhibitions in the United Kingdom.

REALISM VS IMPRESSIONISM

 

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