19th Century English Landscape Painting Oil on Canvas

About the Item

English school, 19th century. Landscape Oil on canvas, measures : cm 50 x 76 Frame cm 68 x 96 The painting in question, of the English school, refers explicitly to the poetics of John Constable (1776-1837), famous British painter specializing in the realization of landscapes. He is largely responsible for reviving the importance of landscape painting in the 19th century. A key event, if you remember that this would become the recurring theme in impressionist painting later in the century. Constable began painting his father’s farm, The Hay Wain (London, National Gallery of Arts), on large six-foot canvases. These "six feet", as they are commonly called, challenged the status quo of the genre, elevating the landscape to a historical subject. The canvas presented here, referring to the subjects painted by Constable, includes a genre element, namely the figure crouched next to the trunk of the tree in the foreground near the stream. But it is a smaller part of the painting than the pure landscape that takes over. Unlike the Impressionists, Constable’s large canvases were painted in his studio, after he made a sketch of the subject he wanted to depict and which provided him with a basis for deepening the many details present in his paintings. The trees are finely taken up, diversifying the species according to the leaves; the clouds are scientifically delineated, thanks to the meteorology studies that the artist undertook to be as accurate as possible in the yield of weather conditions. Born in the Age of Enlightenment, Constable had absolute confidence in the sciences and the political and social implications of the Industrial Revolution on his painting also had great influence. The rural landscape thus became a symbol of a lost Eden, a place of childhood, where the air and water, the open spaces and the hard and honest work of agriculture contrasted sharply with the perceived evils of modern urban life. Constable’s art thus functions as an expression of the growing importance of rural life, at least from the point of view of the rich urban elite to whom these canvases were destined.

Dimensions:

Height: 27.17 in (69 cm)Width: 37.8 in (96 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Canvas,Hand-Painted,Oiled,Painted

Period:

19th Century

Date of Manufacture:

19th Century

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Milan, IT