John Constable

John Constable, the master who, along with Turner, is the leading figure of Romantic English painting,  is the protagonist of an exhibition that tells, and chronologically retraces, the whole artistic career of the renowned painter through the works from Tate, UK.

The exhibit showcases around sixty works, ranging from sketches and, precociously impressionist, small-format en plein air paintings,  to the most important and  vast Romantic landscapes, such as the famous view of Stratford Mill, depicting places in the neighbourhood of the village where he was born, Dedham Vale, in Suffolk. Places of affection, which deeply touched the feelings of this great painter who, unlike fellow artist Turner, great traveller, never leaves his beloved England and depicts Nature in a “picturesque” way, just to quote the famous Aesthetics terminology by philosopher Immanuel Kant.

He therefore differed from Turner, the painter of the “Sublime”, Nature that charms, yet also instils fear and even terror in Humans, like rough seas, or a snow storm,  while Constable always paints  welcoming, reassuring, nature in which you can relax, and peacefully fall asleep. As a matter of fact, Constable focused on painting places closely associated to his life and to family circumstances. 

The display also includes works by artists coeval with Constable and, in some cases, in competition with him, like Turner, John Linnell, Benjamin West and others whose art follows and confronts with Constable's.

Tate, UK owns the most important collection of Constable paintings in the world. Following this stay at Reggia di Venaria, the works of art will return to the Tate Museum and will not be displayed outside England for a long time.

The exhibition is curated by Anne Lyles.
Exhibition organised in collaboration with Tate, UK within a partnership with Fondazione Torino Musei (Turin Museum Foundation) and with GAM Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Torino (GAM Modern Art Gallery Turin).