Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Clouds are Constable's trademark. Appreciate the effort involved in sketching ever-
changing cloud patterns for hours on end—the mix of dark clouds and white clouds, cu-
mulus and stratus, the colors of sunset. A generation before the Impressionists, he actually
set up his easel outdoors and painted on the spot, a painstaking process before the inven-
tion of ready-made paints-in-a-tube (about 1850).
It's rare to find a Constable (or any British) landscape that doesn't have the mark of
man in it—a cottage, hay cart, field hand, or a country road running through the scene.
For him, the English countryside and its people were one.
In his later years, Constable's canvases became bigger, the style more “Impressionist-
ic” (messier brushwork), and he worked more from memory than observation.
Constable's commitment to unvarnished nature wasn't fully recognized in his life-
time, and he was forced to paint portraits for his keep. The neglect caused him to ask a
friend, “Can it therefore be wondered at that I paint continual storms?”
• Now, back to where we left off: the beginning of the 20th century. Retrace your steps to
the main building, where you'll find 20th-century art in the east half of the building.
1900-1950—WORLD WARS
(See “Tate Britain Overview” map, here .)
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