Constable's Great Landscapes
October 5, 2006









The New York Times has an article entitled , Constable's Great
Landscapes: The Six Foot Paintings. The article states:

Nothing about Constable was simple. Contemporaries like J. M. W.
Turner easily matched his scale. But where Turner’s late paintings are
sheer, seductive cloaks of color draped over history and myth,
Constable’s are walls of organic matter, as mulchy and dense as the
earth they depict. You don’t stroll into them; you dig your way in.
Read about the exhibit!!


Discussion Starters

  • I don't know if it's the time of day in which I'm writing this
    article, but I'm aware of certain metaphorical language in the
    article. For example, "you dig your way in." Ask students to
    identify a metaphorical phrase from the article and explain what
    it means. You might have students do this in a blog. After
    students have written these meanings, ask other students to
    evaluate the first student's understanding.

  • Three questions that can be asked of any painting: 1. What is it
    a picture of? 2. What does the picture mean? 3. What meaning
    might this picture have for the viewer's life? You might faciliate
    a discussion within which students consider these questions
    about the picture posted above.

  • Ask students to imagine that they are inside of this painting.
    What would it feel like to exist within the painting. What
    feelings would they have? What thoughts would they have?
    (You could also ask students to develop dramatic presentations
    in which they answered these questions.)

  • Constable painted images of nature. Invite students to paint an
    image of nature.
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