Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
Early Life, Family and Training John Constable was born in 1776 in the village of East Bergholt, Suffolk. He was the second son of Golding and Ann (Watts) Constable. His father was a prosperous corn and coal merchant who owned Flatford Mill. This connection to the river and the local trade meant that the rhythms of the water and the movement of goods were part of the household's daily life. About 1792, he began working in the family bu
siness, learning the practicalities of the corn trade before his path shifted toward the canvas. His training began in earnest when he entered the Royal Academy Schools as a probationer in 1799. He spent his early years studying anatomy and copying the works of old masters to understand the structure of the world. This formal education provided a foundation for his later observations of the landscape. He moved between the quiet life o…