John Constable (1776-1837)
We perform John Constable art authentication, appraisal, certificates of authenticity (COA), analysis, research, scientific tests, full art authentications. We will help you sell your John Constable or we will sell it for you.
John Constable was born in 1776 in East Bergholt, Suffolk. He is remembered as one of the greatest British landscape artists.
Constable displayed art talent at a young age, but he did not wholeheartedly pursue a career as an artist. He worked in the family business for a while. In fact, he didn’t make the decision to follow the career path until he was 23. At this time, he joined the Royal Academy Schools.
Constable had been painting landscapes, but his success did not come easily. He could only find occasional buyers for his paintings. Although his parents gave him money to live on, he began doing portraits.
In 1816, his father died, leaving him enough money to be financially secure. Constable was also married this year. He had dated Maria Bicknell for 7 years. The two were married despite her family’s disapproval.
It wasn’t until the 1820s that Constable’s work began to receive recognition. In 1824, he won a gold medal at the Paris Salon. Others began to admire his work.
Unfortunately, Constable’s wife died in 1828. This had a huge impact on his demeanor. He became depressed and subdued. It was a personality change that would linger for the rest of his life.
Constable never traveled overseas. He painted, instead, places he knew well. He produced large compositions that attracted attention not only for their artistic merit, but also for their sheer size alone.
Constable died in 1837 leaving a legacy of unique artwork. Constable’s work shows influences of the Dutch 17th century landscape painters, but his style was distinctly his own. He attempted to portray landscapes more realistically and directly. He had a very innovative way of using paint to take on the appearance of light or movement of clouds across the sky. He rejected common finishes, using globs of plain white or bright yellow paint for sunlight. If he was depicting a stormy, tempestuous day, he always painted the scene with a quick brush. The fresh approach infused his paintings with life.
Before completing a painting, Constable usually made a full size oil sketch. Today, these sketches are actually more highly desired than the finished paintings. They have been praised for their uninhibited brushwork.
It’s extremely rare to find an authentic John Constable painting that is in good condition. However, it has happened before. In recent years, a painting was discovered by a woman who remarked that the particular piece of artwork had been in her family since World War I. The painting auctioned for nearly half of a million dollars.
If you believe you own a work of art by John Constable, contact Art Experts. We authenticate, appraise, research and provide Certificates of Authenticity (COA’s) for works by John Constable.