Birthday boys

Two interesting artist birthdays have been splashed all over the art universe this week: John Constable and Vincent Van Gogh. The latter seems easy to love: people who don’t know a paintbrush from a milking machine all know and love Vincent. People gurgling in front of The Starry Night used to block traffic at MOMA for miles (and may still do for all I know, since I haven’t been since the reopening). He’s like Monet; you don’t have to know what he was doing to enjoy looking at it, and don’t forget to stop in the gift shop on the way out to pick up the t-shirt, the mug and a couple of postcards. If you, by some bizarre happenstance, do not recall Vincent, maybe it will jog your memory when I point out that he was inspired by Amy Pond to do some of his best work. If you, by some bizarre happenstance, do not recall Amelia Pond, why are you reading this blog?

Constable is another matter altogether. His dates are 1776-1837, and what he did as an artist was legitimize the painting of landscapes from nature, or maybe better, he legitimized the value of nature as such in painting. He did not invent the landscape painting, but his work transformed the idea of landscape painting. 

The Hay Wain is one of Constable’s most famous and highly regarded works, and it does two of the things he is noted for. First, the setting is real life, and second, the depiction of a farm wagon is also drawn from reality. No gods and goddesses, no idealized classical gardens dotted with little Greek fandangos, mixing of the mythical and real a la Canaletto. This painting, according to the BBC, is the second most popular in any British gallery, right after one of Turner’s gorgeous seascapes. (Turner was born a year before Constable, and there was apparently something of a direct rivalry between the two, although their bodies of work are quite dissimilar.)

When you look at Constables, sometimes you might fail to really appreciate them on their own. To us today, landscape includes Cole and Church and Van Gogh and, well, you name it. Constable’s rather staid works by comparison might not get the juices flowing like some of these others. But when you learn a little bit about his history, you might start to feel otherwise. He brought painting out into the real world for its own sake. And that, in its day was a big deal. And it still is today. If you're looking for an entry point into his work, check out the clouds. They are, in a word, amazing.