Barry Venning is an Art Historian, educated at the University of York and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He has a particular interest in British landscape painting and has published articles in the Burlington Magazine, Art History and Turner Studies. He currently teaches at Chelsea College of Art and at the Open University.

John Constable is arguably one of England’s best loved artist；his fame and popularity are rivalled only by those of his great contemporary，J.M.W.Turner，his reputation rests on a handful of very well known paintings，usually Suffolk scenes such as Flatford Mill or Hay-Wain.Many of the magisterial productions of his last years,including hadleigh Castle and The Opening of the Waterloo Bridge,are a far cry from his Suffolk scenes,whilst his accomplishments in the difficult and competitive genre of marine painting have been consistently undervalued.

Barry Venning’s introduction presents Constable’s background, his familly life, his education and the early friendships from which he drew patronage, support and advice.Barry Venning discusses the artist’s ralationship with the great tradition of European landscape painting and examines the historical and cultural context within which Constable lived and worked.

Introduction

Early Life

Friends and Mentors

The Royal Academy

A Natural Painture

Travels and Tours

Portraits

The Agricultural Landscape

Changing Circumstances

The River Stour Paintings

The Later Career

The Masterworks

Chronology

Selected Bibliography

List of Plates