Constable, Turner & The Exhibition Landscape

Room 87, Constable, Turner, Exhibition, Landscape, paintings, galleries

  • East Cowes Castle, Joseph Mallord William Turner

    East Cowes Castle, Joseph Mallord William Turner

    East Cowes Castle
    Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)
    1827 - 1828
    Great Britain, probably
    Oil on canvas
    91.4 x 123.2 cm
    Museum no. FA.210
    Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857

    This is one of two paintings of the Royal Yacht Club races at the Isle of Wight. They were painted for the architect John Nash. He lived in East Cowes Castle, which can be seen in the background. The critic John Ruskin believed this to be 'one of the highest pieces of intellectual art existing'.

  • The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, Philip James de Loutherbourg

    The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, Philip James de Loutherbourg

    The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen
    Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812)
    1788
    Great Britain
    Oil on canvas
    165 x 227 cm
    Museum no. 1028-1886
    Bequeathed by Joshua Dixon, 1886

    De Loutherbourg was born in Strasbourg and settled in London in 1771. This view dates from a visit to Switzerland in 1787-1788. It depicts visitors and locals admiring a waterfall near Zurich, the largest in central Europe. A critic mistook the scene for the River Nile and complained that 'The agitation of the waters…resembles soap-suds'.

  • Boat-building near Flatford Mill, John Constable

    Boat-building near Flatford Mill, John Constable

    Boat-building near Flatford Mill
    John Constable (1776-1837)
    1815
    Great Britain
    Oil on canvas
    50.8 x 61.6 cm
    Museum no. FA.37
    Given by John Sheepshanks 1857

    This portrays the construction of a barge at a dry-dock owned by Constable's father. It is based on a tiny pencil drawing in a sketchbook at the V&A. Constable painted the landscape entirely in the open air. His biographer praised its 'atmospheric truth', such that 'the tremulous vibration of the heated air near the ground seems visible'.

  • Bulls fighting, with a view of Donatt's Castle

    Bulls fighting, with a view of Donatt's Castle, Glamorganshire, John Ward

    Bulls fighting, with a view of Donatt's Castle, Glamorganshire
    John Ward (1769-1859)
    First half of the 19th century
    Great Britain
    Oil on panel
    132 x 228 cm
    Museum no. 220-1871
    Given by C. T. Maud 1871

    Ward specialised in animal paintings. This work is based on a landscape by Rubens. The President of the Royal Academy considered that its 'perfection of execution' made Rubens seem 'gross and vulgar'. Constable, however, saw it as proof that a 'production made upon a picture' is inferior to one 'founded on original observation'.

  • Watermeadows near Salisbury, John Constable

    Watermeadows near Salisbury, John Constable

    Watermeadows near Salisbury
    John Constable (1776-1837)
    1820 or 1829
    Salisbury
    Oil on canvas
    45.7 x 55.3 cm
    Museum no. FA.38
    Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857

    Constable painted this fresh and atmospheric view in the grounds of the home of John Fisher. He was a canon of Salisbury Cathedral and Constable's closest friend. At the Royal Academy the painting was condemned as 'a nasty green thing', and the artist withdrew it.

  • Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond

    Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond, John Constable

    Hampstead Heath, Branch Hill Pond
    John Constable (1776-1837)
    1828
    Great Britain
    Oil on canvas
    Museum no. FA.35
    Given by John Sheepshanks 1857

    Constable painted several versions of this composition. It is based on an oil sketch. The finished painting may be that praised by a critic as 'A rich and varied piece of colouring…A shower has apparently just passed over, and a few flitting clouds throw their flickering lights and shades over the country'.

  • A Cornfield, Peter De Wint

    A Cornfield, Peter De Wint

    A Cornfield
    Peter De Wint (1784-1849)
    1815
    Great Britain
    Oil on canvas
    Museum no. 258-1872
    Given by the artist's daughter, Mrs Helen Tatlock, 1872

    De Wint was born in Staffordshire, of Dutch ancestry. His naturalistic landscapes were admired by Constable, and this painting was widely praised as his masterpiece. A critic described it as 'an early harvest in July, with the noon-day sun striking down through the summer haze, and bathing a wide champaign in a glowing gold'.

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