X-ray shows hidden Constable painting

From the 'Evening Standard', London:

The hidden Constable

X-ray shows how artist changed his masterpiece

By TOM TEODORCZUK
Arts Reporter
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Many regard him as Britain's greatest landscape artist but, as these new images show, John Constable couldn't quite make up his mind when it came to one of his best-loved masterpieces.

The visual deliberations that went into View On The Stour Near Dedham are revealed today.

As part of a new exhibition, Tate Britain has used X-rays to expose the differences between the artist's sketches and the final version.

The X-ray clearly shows Constable drew two boys fishing and a little girl close to a wooden beam marking the edge of a boatyard and a snail reaching into the tress.

But for reasons we can only speculate on, Constable subsequently painted the figures out of the sketch, replacing them with two young boys sitting on the riverbank.

Then, in the final painting, Constable strayed from the sketch, removing the boys and adding a second barge with a man strenuously poling the boat mid-stream.

This summers exhibition concentrates on Constable's "six-footers - 6ft tail canvases - which include The Hay Wain and The Leaping Horse. It is the first time all the "six-footers" have been shown together.

Each will be shown alongside its preliminary sketches.

Co-curator Anne Lyles said: "It's fascinating to see from the X-ray Constable's working practise in creating the composition. He did often make numerous changes."

• Constable: the Great Landscapes will be at Tate Britain from 1 June to 28 August. www.tate.org.uk








source: Evening Standard, print edition, Friday February 3, 2006; West End final, page 9.