We
continue to work our way through the fabulous exhibition at The Frick Collection, showcasing 10
masterworks from the Scottish National
Gallery, with a glorious picture by John
Constable (1776-1837).
We
have written of our deep and abiding admiration of Constable’s artistry in
these pages before. Perhaps the greatest
painter of weather ever, Constable had an uncanny ability to convey the magic
of a place. That sense of almost
otherworldly beauty in the everyday world is illustrated perfectly in this
picture, his last major painting of the Stour
Valley and his definitive treatment of the East-English countryside. The
Vale of Dedham is a masterpiece.
Constable
was born on the River Stour in Suffolk; his parents were Golding and Ann
(Watts) Constable. Golding was a wealthy
corn merchant, and owner of a small ship, The
Telegraph. John was the second son,
but his older brother was mentally disabled and John was expected to pursue the
family business. John dutifully worked
in the business once leaving school, but a series of sketching trips in Suffolk
and Essex made it clear that John was more artist than businessman.
Constable
would paint the English countryside for the rest of his life. Early on he met George Beaumont, a collector who showed young John a series of
pictures that opened up his eyes to the possibilities of art; and Thomas Smith, a professional artist who
encouraged John to paint (but suggested he remain in the family business).
In
1799, John persuaded his father to let him pursue a career in art, and the
elder Constable provided a small allowance.
John entered the Royal Academy
Schools and attended life classes and studied and copied the old
masters. He would exhibit paintings at
the Royal Academy by 1803. He was also a devotee of religious sermons
and poems – and his sense of immanence translated
into his art.
John
had a childhood friendship with Maria Bicknell; once in love with her, he
proposed. The marriage was opposed by
Maria’s family, who saw John as a social inferior; John’s parents approved, but
would not support the couple until John was more financially secure in his
art. They were married in 1816.
John
was not a very financially successful artist, and would struggle to raise his seven
children. In 1828, Maria became ill with
tuberculosis and died; she was only 41. Much
like Allan Ramsay after the loss of his wife (see yesterday’s post), Constable
never fully recovered from the blow.
Vale
of Dedham is the result of a holiday trip in Suffolk in 1827 with his two
eldest children. Of the finished
picture, Constable would write to friend John Fisher that he had painted a large upright landscape (perhaps
my best). The picture was well
regarded when it debuted at the Royal Academy
in 1828, and many consider it his finest work.
This
work really explains the genius of Constable.
The picture is teeming – trees, vegetation, lake, village in the
distance, gypsy and child in the foreground, passing cow, hidden cottage, small
bridge, distant boats…. In less gifted hands, this would be fussy stuff, but
Constable makes all these pieces integrated parts of the overall landscape.
For
an outlandish comparison, think of Constable as a kinder, gentler Hieronymus
Bosch. Both painted scenes of
overwhelming fecundity; in Bosch’s world, this density is a source of overwhelming
horror. To Constable, this density was
mostly a matter of extreme awareness – overwhelming, perhaps, but also natural
and organic.
Important,
too, to Constable’s aesthetic is the sense of an England and English tradition
unsullied by change. The technological
and scientific advances of Constable’s era were significant, and the Industrial
Revolution threatened to change the look and manners of the English countryside
for all time. Like most sensitive souls,
Constable was deeply aware of everything that is lost with each new technological
era, and his work is suffused with a gentle nostalgia.
Finally
– no one (Turner included!) painted the sky like Constable. It isn’t merely a question of color, but of
quality of weather. Constable’s skies
contain distant storms, areas of sun, omens locked in the clouds. The novice uses a dab of white to paint a
cloud, the genius uses his full palette.
Next Week: More From the Scottish National Gallery at
the Frick.
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