Constable: a Portrait by James Hamilton – a warm-hearted biography
This illuminating book suggests that we have got the English painter all wrong
John Constable, the 19th century landscape artist, has a somewhat fusty reputation, said Laura Freeman in The Times. His work is viewed as quaintly old-fashioned, while the phrase “Constable country” – originally a reference to the Suffolk countryside he painted – has become a catch-all for a “biscuit tin” version of England with “tidily herded” sheep and “neatly stacked” corn. Yet in this illuminating and insightful biography, James Hamilton suggests that we have got Constable all wrong.
The painter, he says, was really “a radical” who defied the expectations of his time by painting landscapes rather than portraits. Moreover, he pioneered many of the techniques – broken colour, modern subjects, an obsessive focus on the play of light – that would become bedrocks of impressionism. Constable, Hamilton writes, possessed an “experimental burn” to paint the skies and seasons as no one had before. He was, in short, an “overlooked revolutionary”.
While that may be an apt description of Constable the painter, it certainly isn’t true of Constable the man, said John Carey in The Sunday Times. A bigoted Tory with insular views, he staunchly refused to go abroad, even when his work was lionised in Paris. He was also “sarcastic, gossipy, tight with money and abusive of other artists’ work”. The paintings of J.M.W. Turner, his main contemporary rival, were, he said, “only fit to be spat upon”. He once compared a William Collins landscape to a “large cow turd”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Constable was, at least, a devoted family man, said Michael Bird in The Daily Telegraph. He “adored” his wife Maria, and her death from tuberculosis aged 41, eleven months after giving birth to their seventh child, left him genuinely distraught.
Largely because of the “brazen experimentation” of his work, England was slow to appreciate Constable’s greatness, said Ysenda Maxtone Graham in the Daily Mail. For years, he was “obliged to take on portrait commissions to feed his family”, and he was only elected to the Royal Academy aged 43 (Turner was admitted in his mid-20s). Yet he did, as Hamilton aptly observes, become a “legend in his own landscape”.
In 1832, aged 56, Constable was crossing the river valley at Dedham, in Suffolk, when he praised the landscape to a fellow traveller. “Yes, sir,” the traveller replied. “This is Constable’s country.” The painter replied – “I am John Constable” – which must have been deeply “gratifying”. More than anything, as this delightful and warm-hearted biography shows, he yearned to be “appreciated”.
W & N 472pp £25; The Week Bookshop £19.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Shardlake: a 'tightly plotted, gorgeously atmospheric piece of television'
The Week Recommends Arthur Hughes captivates in this 'eminently watchable' Tudor murder mystery
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Major League Baseball is facing an epidemic of pitcher's injuries
Under the Radar Many insiders are blaming the pitch clock for the rise in injuries — but the league is not so sure
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
8 movie musicals that prove the screen can share the stage
The Week Recommends The singing and dancing, bigger than life itself
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 picturesque homes in Arizona
Feature Featuring a glass elevator in Sedona and a grotto waterfall in Paradise Valley
By The Week Staff Published
-
Silversea cruise review: a Central and North American adventure
The Week Recommends An incredible journey featuring cultural exploration, cooking classes, comfort and more
By Yasemen Kaner-White Published
-
Baffin Island: looking for narwhal in Arctic Canada
The Week Recommends An exploration of this island between mainland Canada and Greenland is ideal for the adventurous at heart
By The Week UK Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes for car lovers
Feature Featuring a 14-car showroom in Oregon and a Bentley-style apartment in Florida
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published