Essential Constable

By Mandi Gomez

Book Overview

Intuitive coffee table book about John Constable and his influence on the British landscape of the eighteenth century. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1840847018
• ISBN13: 9781840847017
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: -
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 3.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The landscape of everyday life

John Constable (1776- 1837) is one of the major figures in the history of English Landscape painting. This volume contains an introduction to his life and work by Karen Hurrell, and reproductions of his major work, annotated by Mandi Gomez. Though he also painted portraits Constable is primarily remembered today for his landscape works. These were often done in his own native area, near the Vale of Dedham. Another favorite subject of Constable was 'Salisbury Cathedral'. Though born in a wealthy family Constable did not have a particularly easy life. He never succeeded in making a living from his art. His marriage to Maria Bicknell was a happy one and they had a large family. But Maria did while giving birth to their seventh child, and this tragedy Constable never fully recovered from. His paintings have a pleasantness about them, and a strong sense of representing carefully observed natural scenes. Constable believed that the Artist could not hope to create anything as wondrous as Nature itself. His modest and worshipful attitude towards his subject gives his paintings a kind of quiet dignity . He developed throughout his life . He continually reworked his paintings, seeking always a truer reflection and expression of the natural world. While the reproductions in this work are not overpowering they do accurately reflect the quiet dignity and love of nature which are central to Constable's vision.