John Constable

(1776-1837)

 

Rejected by the art establishment for most of his life, he is now regarded as one of the major English landscape painters of the 19th century and is best known for his paintings of the English countryside - known as "Constable Country".

 

He was born in East Bergholt, rural Surrey, the son of a wealthy mill owner and was destined to take over his father's business. Luckily his mother nurtured his artistic talent, winning him the patronage of their neighbour, art collector Sir George Beaumont, who influenced Constable's entry to the Royal Academy Schools in 1799, at the age of 23. By 1802, Constable had exhibited his first painting at the annual Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition in London, and each year thereafter. Twenty seven years later, and only eight years before his own death, he was elected a Royal Academician, after having been repeatedly rejected, often with scorn. Today, he remains one of the Royal Academy's most famous members.

 

Constable’s lack of popularity stemmed from

the consensus in the art world at this time that landscape painting was less prestigious than

history painting and even portraiture.

 

While his contemporaries painted romanticised landscapes featuring imposing ruins, sublime mountains, or exotic locations, Constable was somewhat radical in preferring to paint ordinary people going about their working lives in the natural beauty of the English countryside, the area that surrounding his boyhood home.

 

"I should paint my own places best", he wrote to his friend John Fisher in 1821, "painting is but another word for feeling".

 

In 1819, aged 43, the art establishment started to take notice, when Constable exhibited the first of his so-called 'Six-Footers'. 'The White Horse' was the first sixfooter to sell; 'The Hay Wain' didn't sell. Later that year the RA voted Constable an Associate Member, the first step to him becoming a full member...but when he put his name forward for election as a full member, poor Constable received no votes, while other artists were ushered in ahead of him.

 

"The art of people who work for a living."

commented art-collecting aristocrats

 

In 1824, aged 48, his work was becoming more widely appreciated. 'The Hay Wain' was embraced across Europe. Not only did he receive praise from Théodore Géricault, one of the most talented members of the French Romantic movement, it was exhibited at the Paris Salon, and awarded a gold medal by King Charles X of France. But the reality is, in his lifetime, he sold only 20 paintings in England, but in France he sold more than 20 in just a few years. Yet he refused countless invitations to promote his work in Paris.

 

"I will never forsake old England, the

land of my happiness." said Constable.

 

In 1829, aged 52, after decades of being side-lined by the art establishment, his name was put forward for election for a third time. It was a close call and in the final round he won by a single vote. The win was bittersweet. The RA's President, Sir Thomas Lawrence, commented that Constable was "fortunate" to be elected when so many talented historical painters were on the list.

 

But for Constable, the honour was a gratifying moment and long overdue. "It has been delayed too long, and I cannot impact it," he said. It was

26 years after his rival Turner was elected, and in the year his wife, Maria Bicknell, had died - he was bereft without Maria beside him to bask in his late flowering success. She died of TB, aged 41, after giving birth to their seventh child.

 

On 31 March 1837, Constable died unexpectedly in his sleep. Remarkably, given his rocky start at the Royal Academy, he ended his days as a loyal member of the institution, and remains one of their most famous members.

 

After his death, some friends clubbed together to buy three of his most famous works - The Hay Wain, The Valley Farm and A Cornfield. These they presented to the National Gallery.