John Constable Research Paper

John Constable

John Constable was born on June 11, 1776, in East Bergholt, Suffolk. As a young man he worked for his father in the family business at a flour mill. In 1799, Constable decided to leave the flour mill so that he could study at the Royal Academy School. His first landscape painting was in 1802 and after that he studied painting and English Rural life on his own. Constable developed a distinctly individual style. His paintings were "executed in the open air rather than in a studio, as was customary, was an innovation in English art. Constable departed from the traditions of Dutch and English painting by discarding the usual brown under painting and achieving more luminous lighting effects through the use of broken bits of color applied with a palette knife. The Dedham Vale, The Cornfield, The Leaping Horse, and The Hay Wain are great examples of Constable's individual style and how he was a Romantic Painter.

One of Constable's first important paintings was Dedham Vale of 1802

Suffolk, with its open landscapes, gave Constable a vast subject for his paintings. The Hay Wain, painted in 1821, "represents a recollection of one of Constable's favorite sites. The view of the painting gives a sense a tranquillity on a mid - summer day in the countryside." This painting is one of his best works, because of how Constable makes the sun reflect light onto the water and clouds. "The Hay Wain drew so much attention that the painting was moved from Louvre to a place of honor. The King of France awarded Constable a gold medal for his landscape." "Many commentators have linked Wordsworth's and Constable's names; the natural scenes they represent are different. The painting upon which most of Constable's fame rest are of scenes unlike those Wordsworth describes in his poetry" (Kroeber, 10). Wordsworth never depicts a rural farming scene, or a canal. They are similar in