A leap in the dark

The primal play of light and shadow, whether in Leonardo’s ever-so-subtle sfumato or Caravaggio’s dramatic contrasts, has shaped Western art, as Michael Hall reveals

JOHN CONSTABLE attained the zenith of his profession in 1829, when, at the age of 52, he was elected to the Royal Academy (RA). Yet, despite this success, he remained frustrated by the mixed reception that his paintings continued to receive. The reaction to his first major work exhibited at the RA after his election, a view of Hadleigh Castle in Essex, was typical. Although praised for its fidelity to Nature, it was also attacked for its radically free handling of paint: critics compared its thick textures to chopped hay and its brilliant use of highlights to splashes of whitewash. Determined to make a statement about his aims in landscape art that everyone could understand, Constable collaborated with the print-maker David Lucas on a series of mezzotints after his paintings…

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Country Life (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 12, 2025

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