Landscape (c. 1796–1837)

John Constable prints bring the English countryside into your home: slow rivers, mills and hay carts, wide skies full of rolling clouds. Constable was an English landscape painter of the Romantic era who transformed landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, now known as "Constable Country". This collection gathers art prints of his Suffolk scenes, views of Salisbury Cathedral and Hampstead Heath, Brighton seascapes and his famous cloud studies.

About John Constable

John Constable was born on 11 June 1776 in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour in Suffolk. His father was a wealthy corn merchant who owned Flatford Mill, and John was expected to join the business. Instead, sketching trips in the Suffolk and Essex countryside "made me a painter". The collector Sir George Beaumont showed him a painting by Claude Lorrain that inspired him, and he entered the Royal Academy Schools in London.

Success came slowly. In 1816 he married Maria Bicknell after a long courtship, partly funded by commissions such as Wivenhoe Park. From 1819 he painted his famous "six-footers", large views of the Stour valley. The Hay Wain and other works caused a sensation at the Paris Salon of 1824, where the Hay Wain won a gold medal from King Charles X.

Maria's illness took the family to Brighton from 1824, and she died in 1828, a deep blow to Constable. He was finally elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1829, at the age of 52. He died in London on 31 March 1837 and is buried with Maria in Hampstead.

Style and Subjects

Constable painted the places he knew and loved: the mills, locks, meadows and lanes of the Stour valley, Hampstead Heath, Salisbury and the coast at Brighton and Weymouth. "I should paint my own places best," he wrote, and "painting is but another word for feeling."

He worked closely from nature, making oil sketches outdoors to capture changing light and weather. His skies are especially famous, and his cloud studies were made as careful observations. Flecks of white paint, often called "Constable's snow", make leaves and water sparkle, and his fresh, direct approach inspired Delacroix, the Barbizon School and the Impressionists.

Famous Works

• Wivenhoe Park, Essex (1816). A commissioned view of a country house park, with swans on the lake.
• Flatford Mill (1816), Tate, London. His father's mill on the River Stour.
• The Hay Wain (1821), National Gallery, London. A hay cart crossing the Stour by Willy Lott's cottage, his most famous painting.
• Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds (1823), Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The cathedral framed by trees under a bright sky.
• The Cornfield (1826), National Gallery, London. A boy drinking from a stream on a summer lane.
• Hadleigh Castle (1829), Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. A ruined castle on the Thames estuary after a storm, painted after Maria's death.
• Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831), Tate, London. The cathedral beneath a dramatic rainbow.

Decorating with Constable Prints

Constable's countryside scenes are classic choices for a living room, dining room or country kitchen. Their soft greens, golden fields and silvery skies suit traditional and farmhouse interiors, and look wonderful in gilt or natural oak frames.

His cloud studies and Brighton seascapes are fresher and more modern in feel, perfect for a bedroom, bathroom or a minimalist room. A small group of cloud studies makes a beautiful, airy gallery wall.

FAQ

What art movement was John Constable part of?

Constable was an English Romantic landscape painter. His fresh, naturalistic approach also influenced realism, the Barbizon School and the Impressionists.

What is John Constable's most famous painting?

The Hay Wain (1821), in the National Gallery in London, is his most famous work. It won a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1824.

Where can I see Constable's original paintings?

The National Gallery, Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hold major collections. Other works are at the Yale Center for British Art and the National Galleries of Scotland.

How can you recognize a John Constable painting?

Look for English country scenes with rivers, mills, trees and hay carts under big, cloud-filled skies, and small flecks of white paint that make the light sparkle.

What is "Constable Country"?

It is the area of Dedham Vale on the border of Suffolk and Essex, around Constable's birthplace, East Bergholt, and his father's Flatford Mill. Many of his most famous paintings show this landscape.

Related Artists

• Joseph Mallord William Turner — his great contemporary and rival in English landscape painting
• Thomas Gainsborough — Suffolk-born painter whose landscapes Constable admired
• Claude Lorrain — the classical landscape master who inspired him
• Jacob van Ruisdael — Dutch landscape painter he studied and copied
• Richard Parkes Bonington — English painter whose work also impressed French artists in the 1820s