Taster talk: Constable's 'The Leaping Horse'
Thursday 12 March 2020 2 - 2.15pm
The Collections Gallery, Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington Gardens
Free, no booking required
Drop in for a free 15-minute talk to unearth the hidden stories of the Royal Academy.
Join us to explore John Constable RA’s The Leaping Horse, one of a series of large six-foot canvases that the artist began in 1819, with the aim of making his reputation as a serious landscape painter. This painting depicts a tow horse jumping one of the barriers erected along the path by the River Stour to prevent cattle from straying.
This scene in Suffolk is where Constable spent his childhood, and he claimed that the Suffolk countryside 'made him a painter'. Constable paid great attention to weather and he described this painting as ‘a lovely subject, of the canal kind, lively – & soothing – calm and exhilarating, fresh – & blowing.’
In this series of taster talks, encounter the stories behind the RA’s remarkable Collection and buildings from the RA staff’s insider perspective. Taster talks take place at 2pm on Mondays and Thursdays.
Taster talks are free and last 15 minutes. Ask a member of the team on site for further information.
Taster talks
In this series of taster talks, encounter the stories behind the RA’s remarkable Collection and buildings from the RA staff’s insider perspective.