Cloudy sky over a hilly landscape (1812 - 1882)

John Linnell prints bring golden English fields, harvest scenes and glowing sunsets over the Surrey hills into your home. Linnell was an English landscape and portrait painter, a rival of Constable and a loyal friend and patron of William Blake. Our collection of fine art prints covers his landscapes of the North Downs and Kentish Weald, his early London views, portraits of fellow artists and biblical scenes.

About John Linnell

John Linnell was born in Bloomsbury, London, on 16 June 1792, the son of a carver and gilder. By ten he was drawing and selling portraits. He studied with Benjamin West, then spent a year in the house of the watercolourist John Varley, where William Mulready and William Hunt were also pupils. In 1805 he entered the Royal Academy Schools, winning medals for drawing, modelling and sculpture, and he also trained as an engraver.

In 1817 he married Mary Ann Palmer; they had nine children, and their eldest daughter, Hannah, married the painter Samuel Palmer. At first Linnell lived mainly by painting miniatures and portraits, including Mulready, Thomas Carlyle and Sir Robert Peel. He became one of William Blake's best friends and kindest patrons, commissioning his designs for the Book of Job and for Dante, and introduced Samuel Palmer and the Ancients to him.

Linnell's landscapes later fetched high prices. Around 1850 he bought a property at Redhill in Surrey, where he lived and painted the North Downs and the Weald almost to the end of his life. He also studied the Bible in its original languages and published pamphlets on biblical criticism. He died at Redhill on 20 January 1882.

Style and Subjects

Linnell's early work, such as his views of Kensington Gravel Pits and Bayswater, is fresh and closely observed, painted from nature with the naturalism that made him Constable's rival. He admired the Northern Renaissance and Albrecht Dürer.

His later landscapes typically show quiet, uneventful English countryside, harvest fields, woods and commons, made dramatic by a glorious sunrise or sunset. They are rich and glowing in colour, often with biblical or pastoral figures.

Famous Works

• Figures on a Bank, Kensington Gravel Pits (1812). A fresh early study from nature on the edge of London.
• Portrait of John Varley (1820). His teacher, the watercolourist John Varley.
• Mowers in the Field in Porchester Terrace, Bayswater (1830). Haymakers at work in what was then open country.
• Noah, The Eve of the Deluge. A biblical landscape with a dramatic sky.
• Windsor Forest. Ancient trees in the royal forest.
• Wheat. A golden harvest field, typical of his later Surrey landscapes.
• Redhill Common, Surrey (1874). A late view near his home, painted in his eighties.

Decorating with Linnell Prints

Linnell's harvest and countryside scenes, like Wheat or Redhill Common, bring warm golden light to a living room, dining room or country kitchen, and suit traditional English and farmhouse interiors.

His early London views and portraits of fellow artists, such as Augustus Wall Callcott and John Varley, make an interesting group for a study or library, especially for lovers of British art history.

FAQ

Who was John Linnell?

John Linnell (1792–1882) was an English landscape and portrait painter and engraver, a rival of John Constable and a close friend and patron of William Blake.

What was John Linnell's connection to William Blake?

He was one of Blake's best friends and patrons, commissioning his designs for the Book of Job and for Dante's Divine Comedy, and introducing Samuel Palmer to him.

Was John Linnell related to Samuel Palmer?

Yes. His eldest daughter, Hannah, married Samuel Palmer, making Linnell his father-in-law.

What did Linnell paint?

He painted English landscapes with glowing sunsets, especially of Surrey and Kent, as well as portraits, miniatures and biblical scenes set in landscape.

Related Artists

• William Blake: close friend whose late work he supported
• Samuel Palmer: his son-in-law, whom he introduced to Blake
• John Varley: watercolourist in whose house he trained
• John Constable: landscape painter of whom he was a rival
• William Mulready: fellow pupil of Varley and early friend