John Constable, one of the greatest landscape painters, was born in
Sufford, on June 11, 1776. He was the son of a wealthy miller. He began
to take interest in landscape painting while he was at grammar school.
His father did not favour art as a profession. As a boy Constable worked
almost secretly, painting in the cottage of an amateur painter. His
keen artistic interest was such that his father allowed him to go to
London in 1795, where he began to study painting. In 1799 Constable
entered the Royal Academy School in London. He was the first landscape
painter who considered that every painter should make his sketches
direct from nature, that is, working in the open air. Constable’s art
developed slowly. He tried to earn his living by portraits. His heart
was never in this and he achieved no popularity. Constable was a
realist. He put into his landscape cattle, horses, the people working
there. He put the smiling meadows, the sparkle of the sun on rain, or
the stormy and uncertain clouds. The most notable works of Constable are
"Flatford Mill”, "The White Horse”, "The Hay Wain”, "Waterloo Bridge”,
"From Whitehall stairs” and others. In England Constable never received
the recognition that he felt he was due. The French were the first to
acclaim Constable publicly. His influence upon foreign painting schools
has been powerful. Constable may truly be considered the father of
modern landscape painting.
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