Editing John Constable (section)

== The ‘Six-Footers’ ==
[[File:The White Horse by John Constable - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|''[[The White Horse (Constable)|The White Horse]]'' (1819). [[Frick Collection]].]]
Although he managed to scrape an income from painting, it was not until 1819 that Constable sold his first important canvas, ''[[The White Horse (Constable)|The White Horse]]'', described by [[Charles Robert Leslie]] as ''‘on many accounts the most important picture Constable ever painted'''.<ref name="Sotheby’s: The White Horse">[https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2019/old-master-evening-l19033/lot.23.html Sotheby’s: The White Horse]</ref> The painting (without the frame) sold for the substantial price of 100 [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] to his friend John Fisher, finally providing Constable with a level of financial freedom he had never before known.<ref>[https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/immortalised-landscape-of-constable-country Sotheby’s: Landscapes of Constable Country]</ref> ''The White Horse'' marked an important turning point in Constable’s career; its success saw him elected an associate of the [[Royal Academy of Arts|Royal Academy]]<ref>[https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/constable-salisbury-cathedral-from-the-meadows-t13896/in-depth-salisbury-cathedral-from-the-meadows/techniques-materials-six-footer-paintings Tate: Constable’s ‘Six-Footers’]</ref> and it led to a series of six monumental landscapes depicting narratives on the River Stour known as the ‘six-footers’ (named for their scale). The extraordinary size of the works helped Constable attract attention in the competitive space of the Academy's exhibitions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parris |first=Leslie |title=Constable |last2=Fleming-Williams |first2=Ian |publisher=Tate |year=1991 |location=London |pages=193-194}}</ref> Viewed as ‘the knottiest and most forceful landscapes produced in 19th-century Europe’,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/arts/design/constables-great-landscapes-the-sixfoot-paintings.html New York Times: Constable’s Great Landscapes]</ref> for many they are the defining works of the artist's career. The series also includes ''[[Stratford Mill (Constable)|Stratford Mill]]'', 1820 ([[National Gallery]], London); ''[[The Hay Wain]]'', 1821 (National Gallery, London); ''[[View on the Stour near Dedham]]'', 1822 ([[Huntington Library and Art Gallery]], [[Los Angeles County]]); ''[[The Lock (Constable)|The Lock]]'', 1824 (''Private Collection''); and ''The Leaping Horse'', 1825 ([[Royal Academy of Arts]], [[London]]).<ref name="Sotheby’s: The White Horse"/>

The following year, his second six-footer ''[[Stratford Mill (Constable)|Stratford Mill]]'' was exhibited.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116">{{Harvnb|Bailey|2007|p= 116}}</ref> [[The Examiner (1808–1886)|The Examiner]] described it as having ''‘a more exact look of nature than any picture we have ever seen by an Englishman’''.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116" /> The painting was a success, acquiring a buyer in the loyal John Fisher,<ref name="Johnson 1991 614">{{Harvnb|Johnson|1991|p= 614}}</ref> who purchased it for  100 guineas, a price he himself thought too low.<ref>[https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/john-constable-stratford-mill National Gallery: Stratford Mill]</ref> Fisher bought the painting for his solicitor and friend, John Pern Tinney.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116" /> Tinney loved the painting so much, he offered Constable another 100 guineas to paint a companion picture, an offer the artist didn’t take up.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116" /> Constable's growing popularity in turn led to more lucrative commissions, such as ''Malvern Hall'' (1821, [[Clark Art Institute]]). <ref>{{Cite web |title=Malvern Hall |url=https://www.clarkart.edu/artpiece/detail/malvern-hall |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=www.clarkart.edu}}</ref>

[[File:John Constable - The Hay Wain (1821).jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Hay Wain]]'' (1821). [[National Gallery, London]].|314x314px]]
In 1821, his most famous painting ''[[The Hay Wain]]'' was shown at the Royal Academy's exhibition. Although it failed to find a buyer, it was viewed by some important people of the time, including two Frenchmen, the artist [[Théodore Géricault]] and writer [[Charles Nodier]].<ref name="nationalgallery.org.uk">[https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/john-constable-the-hay-wain National Gallery: The Hay Wain - Description]</ref> According to the painter [[Eugène Delacroix]], Géricault returned to France ’quite stunned‘ by Constable’s painting,<ref name="nationalgallery.org.uk"/> while Nodier suggested French artists should also look to nature rather than relying on trips to Rome for inspiration.<ref name="nationalgallery.org.uk"/> It was eventually purchased, along with ''View on the Stour near Dedham'', by the Anglo-French dealer John Arrowsmith, in 1824.<ref name="Johnson 1991 614"/> A small painting ''[[Yarmouth Jetty]]'' was added to the bargain by Constable, with the sale totalling £250.<ref name="Johnson 1991 614"/> Both paintings were exhibited at the [[Salon of 1824|Paris Salon that year]], where they caused a sensation, with the Hay Wain being awarded a gold medal by [[Charles X of France|Charles X]].<ref name="nationalgallery.org.uk"/> The Hay Wain was later acquired by the collector [[Henry Vaughan (art collector)|Henry Vaughan]] who donated it to the [[National Gallery]] in 1886.

Of Constable's colour, Delacroix wrote in his journal: "What he says here about the green of his meadows can be applied to every tone".<ref>{{Harvnb|Kelder|1980|p=27}}</ref> Delacroix repainted the background of his 1824 ''[[The Massacre at Chios|Massacre de Scio]]'' after seeing the Constables at Arrowsmith's Gallery, which he said had done him a great deal of good.<ref>{{Harvnb|Parkinson|1998|p= 132}}</ref>

[[File:John Constable A Boat Passing a Lock.jpg|thumb|''[[The Lock (Constable)|The Lock]]'' (1824). Private collection.]]
A number of distractions meant that ''[[The Lock (Constable)|The Lock]]'' wasn't finished in time for the 1823 exhibition, leaving the much smaller ''[[Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds]]'' as the artist's main entry.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116"/> This may have occurred after Fisher forwarded Constable the money for the painting.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116"/> This both helped him out of a financial difficulty and nudged him along to get the painting done.<ref name="Bailey 2007 116"/> ''[[The Lock (Constable)|The Lock]]'' was therefore exhibited the following year to more fanfare and sold for 150 guineas<ref>{{Harvnb|Charles|2015|p= 162}}</ref> on the first day of the exhibition, the only Constable ever to do so.<ref name="Sotheby’s: The Lock">[https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/old-master-british-paintings-evening-sale-l15036/lot.44.html?locale=en  ssSotheby’s: The Lock]</ref> ''[[The Lock (Constable)|The Lock]]'' is the only upright landscape of the Stour series and the only six-footer that Constable painted more than one version of. A second version now known as the ‘Foster version’ was painted in 1825 and kept by the artist to send to exhibitions.<ref name="Sotheby’s: The Lock"/> A third, landscape version, known as ''[[A Boat Passing a Lock]]'' (1826) is now in the collection of the Royal Academy of Arts.<ref>[https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/a-boat-passing-a-lock R.A.: A Boat passing a Lock]</ref> Constable’s final attempt, ''The Leaping Horse'', was the only six-footer from the Stour series that didn’t sell in Constable’s lifetime.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bailey|2007|p= 164}}</ref>