Hampstead Heath with a Rainbow | |
---|---|
Artist | John Constable |
Year | 1836 |
Type | Oil on canvas, landscape painting |
Dimensions | 76.2 cm× 50.8 cm(30.0 in× 20.0 in) |
Location | Tate Britain, London |
Hampstead Heath with a Rainbow is an 1836 landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. [1] It depicts a scene from Branch Hill in Hampstead overlooking Hampstead Heath.
While Constable had previously painted several similar views this work, painted near the end of his career, is notable for the addition of a windmill and a rainbow. [2] He was pleased with the result "one of my best bits of Heath" and what he described as the "fresh" and "sunshiney" effect. [3]
Today it is in the collection of the Tate Britain having been bequeathed by his daughter Isabel in 1888 [4]
John Constable was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home – now known as "Constable Country" – which he invested with an intensity of affection. "I should paint my own places best", he wrote to his friend John Fisher in 1821, "painting is but another word for feeling".
The Hay Wain – originally titled Landscape: Noon – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs in the National Gallery in London and is regarded as "Constable's most famous image" and one of the greatest and most popular English paintings.
The Cornfield is an oil painting by the English artist John Constable, completed from January to March 1826 in the artist’s studio. The painting shows a lane leading from East Bergholt toward Dedham, Essex, and depicts a young shepherd boy drinking from a pool in the heat of summer. The location is along Fen Lane, which the artist knew well. Constable referred to the piece as The Drinking Boy.
Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows was painted by John Constable in 1831, three years after the death of his wife, Maria. It is currently on display in London, at Tate Britain, in the Clore gallery. He later added nine lines from The Seasons by the eighteenth-century poet James Thomson that reveal the painting's meaning: that the rainbow is a symbol of hope after a storm that follows on the death of the young Amelia in the arms of her lover Celadon. Constable exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy in 1831, but continued working on it during 1833 and 1834. The art historians Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams have described the painting as the climax of his artistic career.
Sir Edwin Alfred Grenville Manton was an English art collector. He was a driving force in the creation of the American International Group (AIG), a collector of paintings by John Constable and his contemporaries, and a generous benefactor to the arts, the church and medicine.
James Bolivar Manson was an artist and worked at the Tate gallery for 25 years, including serving as its director from 1930 to 1938. In the Tate's own evaluation he was the "least successful" of their directors. His time there was frustrated by his stymied ambition as a painter and he declined into alcoholism, culminating in a drunken outburst at an official dinner in Paris. Although his art policies were more advanced than previously at the Tate and embraced Impressionism, he stopped short of accepting newer artistic movements like Surrealism and German Expressionism, thus earning the scorn of critics such as Douglas Cooper. He retired on the grounds of ill health and resumed his career as a flower painter until his death.
Wivenhoe Park is a painting of an English landscape park, the estate of the Rebow family, by the English Romantic painter, John Constable (1776–1837).
The Vale of Dedham is an 1828 oil painting by the English painter John Constable which depicts Dedham Vale on the Essex-Suffolk border in eastern England. It is in the permanent collection of the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.
Admiral's House is a Grade II listed house in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. The house's name is a misnomer, as no admirals have ever lived there. The house is featured in multiple paintings by John Constable.
The White Horse is an oil-on-canvas landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. It was completed in 1819 and is now in the Frick Collection in New York City.
Stratford Mill is an 1820 oil on canvas painting by the British landscape artist John Constable. It is the second painting in the series of six-footers depicting working scenes on the River Stour, a series that includes The Hay Wain. The painting is now in the collection of the National Gallery in London.
Sir Richard Steele's Cottage, Hampstead is a landscape painting by the British artist John Constable, begun in 1831 and completed the following year. It shows a view from Haverstock Hill in then rural Hampstead looking southwards towards London with its skyline dominated by St Paul's Cathedral. The painting takes its name from the cottage to the right of the road, formerly home to the Irish writer and politician Richard Steele, a member of the Kit Cat Club. On the left of the street is a public house the Load of Hay, popular with travellers on their way to Hampstead Heath. The stretch was part of Hampstead Road which connected the city to Hampstead and still retains its historic alignment. The cottage was demolished in 1867 during the development of Belsize Park as a residential area, but is still commemorated by the name of Steele Road.
Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead Heath is a landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. Painted between 1824 and 1825 it depicts the view from Branch Hill in Hampstead. Constable had lived in Hampstead, then beyond the outskirts of London, since 1819 and painted many views of the area. It was sold in 1825 to the collector Francis Darby. The painting shows some carts in the foreground as well as Branch Hill Pond. In the background are the fields around Harrow and the villages of Kilburn and Hendon. In the extreme distance is Windsor Castle.
Parham Mill is an 1826 landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. Constable completed the painting from earlier drawings after the mill burned down in 1825.
Road to the Spaniards, Hampstead is an 1822 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It shows a view across Hampstead Heath along Spaniards Road, a route to Highgate. The building on the left is the Spaniards Inn from which the road takes its name. It was painted in July 1822 during overcast day. Constable emphasies the skyline with looming storm clouds. Today it is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania.
Harwich Lighthouse is an 1820 landscape painting by the British painter John Constable. It depicts a scene on the coast of Essex in England featuring Harwich Low Lighthouse. The lighthouse was maintained by Constable's patron General Rebow whose estate at Wivenhoe Park he also painted.
Gillingham Bridge is an 1823 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It portrays a scene of the country town of Gillingham in Dorset. It features the old bridge crossing the River Stour by the town with church tower of St Mary the Virgin in the background. Constable's friend John Fisher held the incumbency of Gillingham and Constable visited him there in 1820. He returned again in 1823 when he painted this work.
Hampstead Heath, with a Bonfire is a c.1822 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It depicts a view of Hampstead Heath, close to where Constable and his family had been living since 1819. In several views of the Heath, Constable uses relatively small human figures to emphasise its size.
The Glebe Farm is an 1830 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It shows a view of the Glebe Farm in the village of Langham in Essex on the Stour River in what is often now known as "Constable Country". Seen clearly behind it is the tower of St Mary's Church. Constable seems to have been inspired to paint the work by the death of his patron the Bishop of Salisbury in 1825. The Bishop had been rector of Langham in the 1790s when Constable first met him.
The Grove, Hampstead is an 1822 landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. It depicts a scene in Hampstead then a rural settlement on the northern outskirts of London. The main focus is The Grove, a building now known as the Admiral's House. The building features in a number of Constable's Hampstead paintings. He lived in the area and produced many views of the Heath and landmarks.