JOHN CONSTABLE
British, 1776-1837
Netley Abbey, ca. 1833
Oil on canvas. 12 x 15 1/2 in. (31 x 39 cm)
Bequest of David B. Goodstein, Class of 1954. 84.30.3
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The valley of the Stour, in Suffolk, was Constable's birthplace and
frequently appears as a leitmotif in his work. His preferred compositions
make use of the volatility of natural forces such as cloud formations and
trees bent by the wind; painting en plein air prefigured the Barbizon
painters. His highly suggestive response to nature, often compared to Wordsworth's
poetry, would influence Géricault, Delacroix, and, later on, the
French Impressionists. We can also see the extent to which Constable was
himself indebted to Rubens, Ruisdael, and Gainsborough. Constable's expressive
style in Netley Abbey is punctuated with flashes of white brushstrokes
which heighten the drama of this small, dynamic work. The darkened trees
establish a frame for the stone-grey Gothic arches of the Abbey; the hovering
birds in a turbulent sky of brown, apricot, and dull blue serve to intensify
the moody, romantic setting. We hardly notice the two unobtrusive figures
to the left, suggested by red and blue spots of pigment. Their individuality
is absorbed by the imposing details of the Abbey and landscape, which Constable
considered "experiments in natural philosophy." |
