“Hampstead Heath” by John Constable is a watercolor view looking at the panoramic views that were visible in every direction in the open spaces of then-rural Hampstead.
Constable enjoyed painting at Hampstead, which allowed him to escape London’s summer heat. This watercolor is part of the nearly one hundred sketches he made there, in which he attempted to capture the variable sky and its atmospherics.
Constable referred to the practice of painting these works as “skying,” where he used the landscape to portray a sense of scale and depth.
Constable completed numerous studies of landscapes and clouds, determined to become scientific in his recording of atmospheric conditions. One critic wrote:
“The atmosphere possesses a characteristic humidity about it, that almost imparts the wish for an umbrella.”
To these sky studies, he added notes, often on the back of the sketches, of the prevailing weather conditions.
John Constable was an English Romantic painter known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home, which he painted with a passion.
Although his paintings are now famous and valuable, he was not financially successful during his lifetime.
His work was more popular in France, where he sold more works than in his native England and which helped inspire the Barbizon school.
Hampstead Heath is a large and ancient London park, covering 320 hectares.
The park sits on one of the highest points in London, and the view of London from Parliament Hill is protected by law.
The skyscrapers of the City of London can be seen, along with St Paul’s Cathedral and other landmarks.
The heath is rambling and includes hills, ponds, woodlands, playgrounds, a training track, and swimming pools.
Hampstead Heath
- Painting: Hampstead Heath
- Artist: John Constable
- Date: between 1776 and 1837
- Medium: Watercolor on paper
- Dimensions: H: 124 mm x W206 mm
- Museum: The British Museum
John Constable
- Artist: John Constable
- Born: 1776 – East Bergholt, Suffolk, East Anglia, England
- Died: 1837 (aged 60) – London, England
- Nationality: English
- Notable works:
- Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows
- Hampstead Heath
A Tour of the British Museum – Prints and Drawings Collection
- “Studies of a Reclining Male Nude” by Michelangelo
- Newport Castle by J. M. W. Turner
- “Hampstead Heath” by John Constable
- “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Katsushika Hokusai
- “Rainstorm Beneath the Summit” by Katsushika Hokusai
Constable
Constable
~~~
“It will be difficult to name a class of landscape in which the sky is not the keynote, the standard of scale, and the chief organ of sentiment.”
– John Constable
~~~
Photo Credit: 1) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Popular this Week
Sponsor your Favorite Page SEARCH Search for: Search Follow UsJoin – The JOM Membership Program
Sponsor a Masterpiece with YOUR NAME CHOICE for $5
Share this:
- Tweet
