Editing John Constable (section)

== Early career ==
[[File:ConstableSelfPortrait.png|thumb|upright|left|''John Constable, Self-portrait'' 1806, pencil on paper, [[Tate Gallery]] London. His only indisputable self-portrait, drawn by an arrangement of mirrors.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parris|Fleming-Williams|Shields|1976|pp= 59–60}}</ref>]]
[[File:Constable childhood home plaque.jpg|thumb|Plaque in East Bergholt marking the site of Constable’s childhood home]]
John Constable was born in [[East Bergholt]], a village on the [[River Stour, Suffolk|River Stour]] in Suffolk, to Golding and Ann (Watts) Constable.<ref>John Constable was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour in Suffolk, to Golding Constable, a wealthy corn merchant and Ann (Watts) Constable. Delphi Collected Work of John Constable, 2015, page 14.</ref> His father was a wealthy corn merchant, owner of [[Flatford Mill]] in East Bergholt and, later, Dedham Mill in [[Essex]]. Golding Constable owned a small ship, ''The Telegraph'', which he moored at [[Mistley]] on the Stour estuary, and used to transport corn to London.<ref>Constable’s father — Golding Constable was a wealthy corn merchant, owner of Flatford Mill in East Bergholt and, later, Dedham Mill in Essex. He owned a small ship, The Telegraph, which he moored at Mistley on the Stour estuary, which he used to transport corn to London. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable, 2015, page 14</ref> He was a cousin of the London tea merchant, [[Abram Newman]]. Although Constable was his parents' second son, his older brother was [[intellectual disability|intellectually disabled]] and John was expected to succeed his father in the business. After a brief period at a boarding school in [[Lavenham]],<ref>[he] was transferred later to an establishment in the pretty, little town of Lavenham, where he suffered much at the hands of a flogging usher. Holmes, Charles John (1901), Constable, The Sign of the Unicorn, VII Cecil Court, St.Martin's Lane, London</ref> he was enrolled in a day school in Dedham, Essex.<ref>After a brief period at a boarding school in Lavenham, he was enrolled in a day school in Dedham. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.</ref> Constable worked in the corn business after leaving school, but his younger brother Abram eventually took over the running of the mills.<ref>Constable worked in the corn business after leaving school, but his younger brother Abram eventually took over the running of the mills. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.</ref>

In his youth, Constable embarked on amateur [[Sketch (drawing)|sketching]] trips in the surrounding Suffolk and Essex countryside, which was to become the subject of a large proportion of his art.<ref>In his youth, Constable embarked on amateur sketching trips in the surrounding Suffolk and Essex countryside, which in later years would inspire the majority of the subject matter of his canvases. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.</ref>  These scenes, in his own words, "made me a painter, and I am grateful"; "the sound of water escaping from mill dams etc., willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things."<ref>{{Harvnb|Parkinson|1998|p= 15}}</ref> He was introduced to [[Sir George Beaumont, 7th Baronet|George Beaumont]], a collector, who showed him his prized ''Hagar and the Angel'' by [[Claude Lorrain]], which inspired Constable.<ref>At this time, he was introduced to George Beaumont, an art collector that showed the aspiring artist, amongst his many other treasures, his prized painting Hagar and the Angel by Claude Lorrain, which would have a profound influence on Constable. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable, p.15</ref> Later, while visiting relatives in [[Middlesex]], he was introduced to the professional artist [[John Thomas Smith (1766–1833)|John Thomas Smith]], who advised him on painting but also urged him to remain in his father's business rather than take up art professionally.

[[File:John Constable - The Vale of Dedham - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[The Vale of Dedham (painting)|The Vale of Dedham]]'' (1828). [[Scottish National Gallery]], Edinburgh]]
In 1799, Constable persuaded his father to let him pursue a career in art, and Golding granted him a small allowance. Entering the [[Royal Academy Schools]] as a probationer, he attended [[life drawing|life classes]] and anatomical dissections, and studied and copied [[old masters]]. Among works that particularly inspired him during this period were paintings by [[Thomas Gainsborough]], [[Claude Lorrain]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]], [[Annibale Carracci]] and [[Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael|Jacob van Ruisdael]].<ref>In 1799, Constable persuaded his father to let him pursue a career in art and Golding granted him a small allowance. Entering the Royal Academy Schools as a probationer, he attended life classes and anatomical dissections, as well as studying and copying old masters. Among works that particularly inspired him during this period were the landscapes of Thomas Gainsborough, Claude Lorrain, Peter Paul Rubens, Annibale Carracci and Jacob van Ruisdael. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 15). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.</ref>  He also read widely among poetry and sermons, and later proved a notably articulate artist.

In 1802 he refused the position of drawing master at Great Marlow Military College (now [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]]), a move which [[Benjamin West]] (then master of the RA) counselled would mean the end of his career. In that year, Constable wrote a letter to [[John Dunthorne]] in which he spelled out his determination to become a professional landscape painter:

{{blockquote|For the last two years I have been running after pictures, and seeking the truth at second hand... I have not endeavoured to represent nature with the same elevation of mind with which I set out, but have rather tried to make my performances look like the work of other men...There is room enough for a natural painter. The great vice of the present day is bravura, an attempt to do something beyond the truth.<ref>{{Harvnb|Thornes|1999|p= 96}}</ref>}}

His early style has many qualities associated with his mature work, including a freshness of light, colour and touch, and reveals the compositional influence of the old masters he had studied, notably of Claude Lorrain.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parkinson|1998|p= 17}}</ref> Constable's usual subjects, scenes of ordinary daily life, were unfashionable in an age that looked for more romantic visions of wild landscapes and ruins. He made occasional trips farther afield.

By 1803, he was exhibiting paintings at the Royal Academy. In April he spent almost a month aboard the [[East Indiaman]] {{ship||Coutts|1797 EIC ship|2}} as it visited south-east ports while sailing from London to Deal before leaving for China.<ref>In 1803, Constable exhibited at the Academy two “Landscapes” and two “Studies from Nature”; and in April he made a trip from London to Deal, in the Coutts, East Indiaman, with Captain Torin, a friend of his father. Constable, John. Delphi Collected Works of John Constable (Illustrated) (Masters of Art Book 17) (p. 429). Delphi Classics. Kindle Edition.</ref>

In 1806 Constable undertook a two-month tour of the Lake District.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parkinson|1998|p= 18}}</ref> He told his friend and biographer, Charles Leslie, that the solitude of the mountains oppressed his spirits, and Leslie wrote:

{{blockquote|His nature was peculiarly social and could not feel satisfied with scenery, however grand in itself, that did not abound in human associations. He required villages, churches, farmhouses and cottages.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parkinson|1998|p= 22}}</ref>}}

Constable adopted a routine of spending winter in London and painting at East Bergholt in summer. In 1811 he first visited [[John Fisher (Anglican bishop)|John Fisher]] and his family in [[Salisbury]], a city whose cathedral and surrounding landscape were to inspire some of his greatest paintings.

[[File:John Constable - Wivenhoe Park, Essex - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|''[[Wivenhoe Park (painting)|Wivenhoe Park]]'' (1816). [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington.]]
To make ends meet, Constable took up [[portraiture]], which he found dull, though he executed many fine portraits. He also painted occasional religious pictures but, according to John Walker, "Constable's incapacity as a religious painter cannot be overstated."<ref name="Walker1979">{{Harvnb|Walker|1979|}}</ref>
[[File:Constable - The Wheat Field, 1816, 2007.8.27.jpg|thumb|''[[The Wheat Field (Constable)|The Wheat Field]]'', 1816, oil on canvas. [[Clark Art Institute]], gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton]]
Another source of income was country house painting. In 1816, he was commissioned by Major-General [[Francis Slater Rebow]] to paint his country home, ''[[Wivenhoe Park (painting)|Wivenhoe Park, Essex]]''.<ref name="Reynolds 1983 86">{{Harvnb|Reynolds|1983|p= 86}}</ref> The Major-General also commissioned a smaller painting of the fishing lodge in the grounds of Alresford Hall,<ref name="Reynolds 1983 86" /> which is now in the [[National Gallery of Victoria]].<ref>[https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/3867/ NGV]</ref> Constable used the money from these commissions towards his wedding with Maria Bicknell.<ref name="Reynolds 1983 86" /> This period of Constable's painting is heavily populated with idyllic country scenes with heavy detail, notably his 1816 work ''[[The Wheat Field (Constable)|The Wheat Field]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wheat Field |url=https://www.clarkart.edu/artpiece/detail/the-wheat-field |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=www.clarkart.edu}}</ref>