John Constable’s Talent: Art History

Romanticism is a word that is easier to feel than define. It is a style that appeals to the emotions instead of the objective and rational attitude state of mind (Newlin 124). This started out as a literary movement and was soon mirrored in art. There was a renewed love for nature in England and it started to grow during the time of John Constable in the nineteenth century. Romanticism started to be depicted in landscape paintings. There were two forms, tranquil and dramatic.

Tranquil paintings “entailed closely observed representations of nature” (Stokstad, Cothren 469). In these paintings, landscape was seen as a spiritual precinct and was meant to distract from the effects of industrialization and urbanization. Dramatic paintings, however, were the opposite. They “emphasized turbulent or fantastic natural scenery, often shaken by natural disasters such as storms and avalanches” (469). These paintings stir the viewer’s emotions. Of the two forms, Constable focused on the tranquility of rural scenes that he observed.

Some say Constable was “an inspired artist, gifted with more than normal powers of insight or intuition” (Kitson 738).

On the contrary, some say his works are just merely drawings. Constable grew up in Southern England. He claimed this made him a painter before he ever put a brush to paper. One reason can be because of the beautiful and inspiring nature in Stour Valley. Landscape paintings were his subject of choice despite training at the Royal Academy, where scenery was considered the lesser subject (Stokstad, Cothren 470). He particularly focused on the sky.

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Constable would sketch the things he would see on his walks and “insisted art should be an objective record of things actually seen” (470). Constable’s paintings can be described as true to nature. He “persuades us of the truth of his own vision; at the same time, our experience, particular the experience of those who are familiar with the parts of the countryside he painted, confirms that his vision was a highly naturalistic one” (Kitson 742). Naturalistic is referring to “lifelike descriptions of the visual appearance of the natural world” (Stokstad, Cothren 2). If one were to walk the the Stour Valley and caught glimpses of the locations and scenery that Constable painted, they would realize how accurate his paintings of the area were.

One of his paintings in particular, The Stour, was made in 1810 and is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This painting depicts his style of painting completely. It is a scene of serene bliss just as the sun has set, with a few vibrant colors still lingering in the sky. The swaying trees are reflecting off of the body of water beneath it. The water is still, besides for the geese swimming in the bottom corner. Another painting of Constable’s that is similar is The White Horse. The same style of brushwork is used and the general idea is also the same. The only major difference between the two paintings is the time of day that it was painted. The White Horse shows a horse and person near the water’s edge. The sky is blue and full of clouds, the trees are green and luscious, and there is a body of water. Other artists during the nineteenth century painted pictures of landscapes as well. Some of the more well known are Joseph Mallord William Turner, Thomas Cole, and Caspar David Friedrich.

Realism started to be defined toward the middle of the nineteenth century and was the first modern movement that abandoned traditional forms of art. Some say it is the beginning of modern art. Before, everyday life and the modern world were not appropriate for topics of art. Realism touched on a little bit of every part of life: social, economical, political, and cultural. Some of the portrayals were awful and uncensored, making it even more “real” (The Art Story Contributors). This movement showcased the “accurate and seemingly unmitigated description of the ordinary, observable world, showcasing its ‘unvarnished truth’” (Stokstad, Cothren 488). Artists who painted during this time did not abandon the brutal truths of life, and insisted on painting them. “Realism was an unbroken tradition in American painting” (Stokstad, Cothren 492).

Winslow Homer was well known for recording images of the Civil War. He was a reporter and illustrator of Harper’s Weekly. His works from the Civil War are considered to be among the finest. He mostly painted the everyday life of the soldiers, and on occasion, he would paint scenes from the battle (Burchfield 166). After finishing with the Peninsular Campaign, he changed his subject matter to scenes of the country, farm, and seashore. The works of art he created are so admirable and unique that it is difficult to describe them to someone who has never seen the paintings before. He was not influenced by what other artists were painting or the trends that were going on in the nineteenth century. Homer “painted with breadth, sincerity, and freshness, and with extraordinary technical mastery” (The President and Fellows of Harvard College…35). It is said that he did not have much formal art instruction, and the style that he painted he came up with himself (Burchfield 165). He did not use color often and the majority of his works were black and white. Despite the paintings not having any pigment to them, he “is capable of astonishing fullness and force of coloring” (Cox 255). Homer’s works of art have an interesting pattern and describe the mood of himself or the mood of the nature that he was painting. His works are not dainty, they are bold and daring (255).

Homer temporarily went to France for ten months and after he returned he was inspired to paint rural scenes that were in magazine illustrations. While in England, he was fascinated with the “breeches buoy.” This is “a mechanical apparatus used for rescues at sea” (Stokstad, Cothren 493). In 1884 he painted The Life Line, which shows a coast guard saving a shipwrecked women using a breeches buoy. This painting told a story. It is a dramatic and fierce work of art. The waves are crashing and strong, and it is almost as if you were right there, feeling the intensity of this work. This is one of Homer’s most popular paintings and embodies his style. It is at the seashore, in black and white, and rough. Another similar painting created by Homer is Eight Bells. In this work, two men are at the seashore using a device to search for something. The waves are dull and somewhat calm. The light shining from the sky is glistening off of the sailors helmets, which Homer depicted exquisitely. The difference between The Life Line and Eight Bells is the ambience of the scene. Other famous artists that were also part of the realism movement were Thomas Eakins and Édouard Manet.

Twentieth century art is labeled under Modernism. This “connotes a specific movement in the history of art, focused on a rejection of conventions and a commitment to radical innovation” (Stokstad, Cothren 512). Modernism focuses on experimentation, discovery, and breaking from tradition. It is about creating fantasies instead of what is real. There were many “isms” during this time, such as Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, and Surrealism. Many of the pieces created were nonrepresentational art, which is strictly lines, shape, color, and texture. There are no references to the world or to a narrative subject matter (513).

Louis Vauxcelles labeled some of the painters as fauves, which means “wild beasts.” Their art was a visual experience and used forceful color and impulsive brushwork (Stokstad, Cothren 513). They broke from tradition. One of Fauvism’s leading painters in the twentieth century was Henri Matisse. He “is a painter and draughtsman of great technical accomplishment, with a keen sense of reality, for the expressions of which he relies mainly upon the rhythmic arrangement of line and mass; color being used as an integral and essential part of the design” (Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. 281). Color, line, and form were his main interests.

He had a passionate and brilliant color sense. Composition was equally important to him. His works of art fall into four groups. The first is still life and figure compositions. This is when a painter says everything he wants to say clearly and with confidence. The second group shows how, to Matisse, “color and design are one and indivisible as means of expression” (Burlington Magazine Publications 281). This group focuses on method and feelings. Landscapes form a third group, where the use of the colors gray and green are excellent and articulate. Finally, the fourth group “provides admirable examples of the power of line by itself as a means of expression” (281).

One of Matisse’s works, Lady in Blue, was painted in 1937. This painting showcases the style and all the techniques Matisse was famous for. A woman is sitting on a couch wearing a long blue dress with white frills. It appears as if she is sitting on a couch or on the arm of a couch. One arm is draped across her lap and the other hand is propped up with one finger touching the temple of her head. There are white lines that look to be painted with a fine paintbrush. This painting does not show much depth. One reason is because it is hard to tell if the black area is a seat or the floor.

The cheerful colors in this work of art can also be found in many of Matisse’s paintings. He “transforms hedonistic pursuits within a pastoral landscape into a vibrant arrangement of luscious colors” (Stokstad, Cothren 513). Lady in Blue is of utmost precision. Another popular painting of Matisse is The Joy of Life. A landscape with brightly colored scenery is the background of the work. There are nude figures of individual motifs that come together to form the complete composition. The difference between Lady in Blue and The Joy of Life is the subject. One depicts a singular woman and the other shows a multitude of women who do not have clothes on. The use of lines and colors are the same. Three other Modernism painters are Pablo Picasso, Vasily Kandinsky, and Käthe Kollwitz.

The three paintings I chose were all very different and unique. The Stour and The Life Line have some of the same characteristics, though. Both of these works have a landscape in the piece. They have somewhat of the same color scheme, also. The Life Line is a little more dark and also contains people. The Stour is brighter and softer. Lady in Blue is the most eye catching piece of the three. The vivid colors are so unique and nothing like the other two paintings. All three works have their own style of details, so one is not greater than the other. It just depends on the time period it was created as to which details it has in it. I personally enjoyed researching and looking at all three of these paintings. My favorite would have to be Lady in Blue because of the luscious colors. All of Matisse’s pieces grab my attention. All of the paintings are special in their own way.