John Constable: The Making of a Master - Hardcover

Evans, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1851778004 ISBN 13: 9781851778003

Publisher: V & A Publishing, 2014

Synopsis

The remarkable naturalism of John Constable's paintings has always been acknowledged, and his 'vivid and timeless' (as he called them) oil sketches have been celebrated since the 1890s as precursors of Impressionism, modernism and photographic composition. He remains a powerful influence on contemporary artists, and was famously Lucian Freud's favourite painter. He was also hailed in 1866 as the first painter whose 'art is purely and thoroughly English', and his studio oil paintings have helped to define our idea of the English countryside. Published to accompany a major V&A exhibition, this book evaluates these aspects of Constable's work, placing the artist's naturalism and studio work in the context of his wider practice - in particular his talent for copying, and extensive print collection. A companion volume to John Constable: Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum (page6, V&A, 2011), this book shows how the artist's reverence for the Old Masters is not incompatible with his revolutionary handling of paint: where others competed with the Masters, Constable assimilated their ideas and values to imbue his own naturalistic vision with dynamism.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Evans is Senior Curator of Paintings at the V&A. He has written extensively on painting from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century and is the author of numerous books including: The Painted World: From Illumination to Abstraction (V&A, 2005), Raphael: Cartoons and Paintings for the Sistine Chapel (V&A, 2010) and John Constable: Oil Sketches from the V&A (V&A, 2011).

From the Back Cover

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: V & A Publishing
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1851778004
• ISBN 13: 9781851778003
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 223