Constable, Gainsborough, Turner and the Making of Landscape

This exhibition has now closed

"Spectacular" - The Times
"Fascinating" - The Arts Desk

Opening times
Monday – Thursday 10am–4.30pm
Friday 10am–10pm
Saturday & Sunday 10am–6pm

J.M.W. Turner RA, ‘Dolbadern Castle’, 1800. Oil on canvas, 1194 x 902 mm. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited. © Royal Academy of Arts, London This exhibition presents works by the three towering figures of English landscape painting - John Constable RA, Thomas Gainsborough RA and JMW Turner RA - and explores the development of the British school of landscape painting. The display includes 150 works of art, including paintings, prints, books and archival material.

Since the foundation of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768, its Members have included artists committed to landscape painting, addressing the changing meaning of ‘truth to nature’ and the discourses surrounding the beautiful, the sublime and the picturesque.

During the 18th and 19th centuries there was a shift in style in landscape painting, represented here in the works of Gainsborough, the emotionally charged and sublime landscapes of Turner and Constable’s sentimental, romantic scenes.

Showcasing major works from the Royal Academy Collections, the exhibition features highlights such as Gainsborough’s Romantic Landscape (c.1783), Constable’s The Leaping Horse (1825) and Boat Passing a Lock (1826) alongside Turner’s brooding diploma work, Dolbadern Castle (1800).

Thomas Gainsborough RA, ‘Romantic Landscape’, ca. 1783. Oil on canvas,1537 x 1867 mm. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited. © Royal Academy of Arts, London.

A number of works by their contemporaries Richard Wilson, Michael Angelo Rooker and Paul Sandby are also exhibited, with prints made after 17th century masters whose work served as models: Claude, Poussin, Gaspard Dughet and Salvator Rosa. Letters by Gainsborough, Turner’s watercolour box and Constable’s palette are on display, bringing their artistic practice to life.

Spotlight Talks
10-minute talks on individual works in the exhibition, free with an exhibition ticket.
3pm on the following Thursdays: 13 & 20 Dec and 3, 10, 17 & 24 Jan.