Constable: A Portrait

John Constable is Britain's best-loved but least understood artist, known for his detailed paintings of southern England's landscapes and skies. This biography by James Hamilton reveals a complex, troubled man and establishes him as a giant of European art.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 496 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2023
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

John Constable, the revolutionary nineteenth-century painter of the landscapes and skies of southern England, is Britain's best-loved but perhaps least understood artist. His paintings reflect visions of landscape that shocked and perplexed his contemporaries: attentive to detail, spontaneous in gesture, brave in their use of color. What we learn from his landscapes is that Constable had sharp local knowledge of Suffolk, a clarity of expression of the skyscapes above Hampstead, an understanding of the human tides in London and Brighton, and a rare ability in his late paintings of Salisbury Cathedral to transform silent suppressed passion into paint. Yet Constable was also an active and energetic correspondent. His letters and diaries - there are over one thousand letters from and to him - reveal a man of passion, opinion, and discord, while his character and personality are concealed behind the high shimmering color of his paintings. They reveal too the lives and circumstances of his brothers and his sisters, his cousins and his aunts, who serve to define the social and economic landscape against which he can be most clearly seen. These multifaceted reflections draw a sharp picture of the person, as well as the painter.

James Hamilton's biography reveals a complex, troubled man and explodes previous mythologies about this timeless artist, establishing him in his proper context as a giant of European art. Constable's paintings are a treasure trove of insight into his life and work, and his letters and diaries provide a fascinating glimpse into the man behind the art. This biography is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of art or the life of a remarkable individual.

Weight: 392g
Dimension: 129 x 197 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474612920