Constable: Drawings 123 Colour Plates

John Constable was English painter, ranked with Turner as one of the greatest British landscape artists. After spending some years working in the Picturesque tradition of landscape and the manner of Gainsborough, Constable developed his own original treatment from the attempt to render scenery more directly and realistically; he thought that 'No two days are alike, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of the world', and: 'The sound of water escaping from mill dams, willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts and brickwork. I love such things. These scenes made me a painter.' He never went abroad, and his finest works are of the places he knew and loved best, particularly Suffolk and Hampstead, where he lived from 1821. Often completing primary sketches prior to starting a large canvas, Constable would draw on the inspiration nature gave him and tries to capture a moment in time, testing his composition first in sketches.