Constable - John Constable

English painter. Born to a miller in Suffolk. This region is full of streams and canals, and the scenery itself is his subject matter. He went to London as a young man and entered the Academy in 1799, where he copied Wilson and the Dutch school, and noticed the techniques of Girtin. Although he was accepted into the Academy in 1802, he realized from this time that the direction he wanted to go in was not compatible with the art world, so he returned home and devoted himself to landscape painting. He painted Suffolk landscapes while also painting portraits to make a living, but it was not until he was approaching 40 that he established his own style of painting. He admired Gainsborough, who was from the same town as him, for the rest of his life, and they shared a common love of nature and a sense of quiet joy. However, he was not light-hearted like Gainsborough, and he persistently delved into each and every phenomenon of nature. He left his studio, set up his easel outside, and painted familiar landscapes, discovering green, which brought about a revolution in the brown tones that were common at the time. He completed his works in the studio based on sketches made outdoors, but he slightly changed the angle of view and introduced a more realistic sense of objects through light and color, in an attempt to adhere to the laws of nature. At the same time that he opened up the previously unresolved issue of plein air, he also set in motion the issue of the existence of anonymous things that are often overlooked. In 1927 he moved to Hampstead, where he produced many small oil sketches. At the Paris Salon in 1924, his works such as "The Haystack" inspired Delacroix and the Impressionists.

[Kenjiro Okamoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの画家。サフォークの製粉業者の子に生まれた。この地方は小川や運河の多い土地で、その風物がそのまま題材になっている。若いころロンドンに出、1799年アカデミーに入学し、ウィルソンやオランダ派を模写し、ガーティンの手法に注目した。1802年アカデミーに入選したものの、このころから自分の行くべき方向が画壇と相いれないことを知り、帰郷して風景画に没頭する。生計のため肖像画も描きながらサフォークの風景を描いたが、画風を確立したのは40歳に近づいてからであった。終生同郷のゲーンズバラを敬愛していたが、自然を素直に愛し、静かな喜びを感じる点では通じるものがある。しかし、ゲーンズバラの軽みはなく、自然の事象の一つ一つに執拗(しつよう)に食い込んでゆく。画室から出て戸外に画架を立て、身近な風景を描いて緑を発見し、当時常套(じょうとう)化された褐色系の色調に革命的な改革をもたらした。完成作は戸外のスケッチをもとに画室で仕上げたが、視角に多少の変化をもたせ、光と色とで物象の現実的感覚を導入し、自然の掟(おきて)を守ろうとした。従来未解決の外光の問題が開けてくると同時に、ともすれば見落しがちな無名のものの存在という問題に先鞭(せんべん)をつけることになる。27年ハムステッドに移り、油彩スケッチの小品を多く残している。24年パリのサロンで『まぐさ車』などがドラクロワや印象派に刺激を与えた。

［岡本謙次郎］

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