Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals

Published to coincide with the first major exhibition at Tate Britain marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of two of Britain’s most beloved artists, this textured paperback Turner and Constable exhibition book gives a unique insight into the work of these painters in tandem.

Drawing on the very best of their work, the book reveals the ways in which the painters offered two competing and highly original visions of landscape painting, both of which remain powerfully resonant today. Each challenged the artistic norms of their time while also responding to the transformative social, political, economic and environmental developments of the early nineteenth century. Defying convention, they proved that landscape painting could be a vehicle for profound reflections on life as they saw it, paving the way for landscape art to become a vital arena for artistic expression.

Despite their differences, the ways in which these painters presented a radical challenge to artistic norms led them to be described by their contemporaries in similar ways. They were simultaneously celebrated as the two great ‘originals’ of contemporary British art but also attacked as eccentric outsiders whose work was increasingly puzzling and illegible.

Turner and Constable will offer a chance to directly compare highlights from the full span of the two artists’ careers. This fresh and ambitious presentation of their work will inspire many to re-connect with these beloved artists anew, and inspire those who are less familiar with their work to appreciate its vitality, soul and enduring power.

The exhibition catalogue features additional contributions by Thomas Ardill, Frank Bowling, Nicole Cochrane, Sarah Gould, Richard Johns, Katharine Martin, Nicola Moorby, Bridget Riley, Nicholas Robbins, Emma Roodhouse, George Shaw, Emma Stibbon, and Joyce Townsend.

Amy Concannon is Senior Curator, Historic British Art at Tate.