John Constable: the making of a master

Uittreksel

Criticized in his lifetime for his rough handling of paint, John Constable's (1776-1837) paintings have long defined the idea of the English countryside, its geography fully captured by his remarkable naturalism. His vivid and timeless oil sketches, as he called them, have been celebrated since the 1890s as precursors of Impressionism, Modernism, and photography. This major book reconciles the two defining aspects of Constable's work- his revolutionary painting techniques and his reverence for the old masters. Where other artists competed with the masters, Constable assimilated their ideas and values to imbue his own naturalistic vision with dynamism. This seeming incompatibility, placed in the context of the artist's wider practice, helps delineate why Constable remains such a powerful influence on contemporary artists.

Inhoud

Foreword -- Introduction -- Origins: seeking the truth at second hand -- Outdoor oil sketches and studies: faithful and brilliant transcriptions of the thing of the moment- nature caught in the very act -- Collector: the interesting and valuable collection formed by the late John Constable, Esq. R.A. -- Methods: I imagine myself driving a nail -- Sources: we challenge the Dutch Masters to shew us any thing better than this -- Canon: the Chiar Oscuro of Nature.