Bow Fell, Cumberland
John Constable·1807
Historical Context
Bow Fell, Cumberland, painted in 1807 and held at the Clark Art Institute, records Constable’s visit to the Lake District, where he sought the sublime mountain scenery celebrated by the Romantic poets. Despite the trip’s fame in his biography, Constable found the mountains oppressive, preferring the gentle cultivated landscapes of his native Suffolk. He famously declared that the solitude of mountains oppressed his spirits. The Bow Fell study nevertheless demonstrates Constable’s competent handling of dramatic terrain, even as it confirmed his artistic commitment to the lowland English landscape that would define his career.
Technical Analysis
The mountain landscape demonstrates Constable's ability to capture the grandeur of upland scenery, though the painting lacks the intimate familiarity that characterizes his Suffolk works. The careful rendering of rock formations and the atmospheric mountain light show his adaptability as a landscape painter.
Look Closer
- ◆Look at Bow Fell itself rising above the composition — the Lakeland mountain rendered with the geological weight and atmospheric drama that Constable found in this northern landscape so different from his usual subjects.
- ◆Notice how Constable handles mountain scenery — less comfortable with the sublime than Turner, his treatment of Bow Fell is more observational than theatrical, honest about the mountain's character.
- ◆Observe the foreground landscape of the Lake District — the rocky, rough terrain quite unlike the gentle Suffolk countryside, Constable adapting his naturalistic approach to unfamiliar topography.
- ◆Find the quality of Lake District light — the northern atmospheric moisture creating a different quality of illumination from Constable's usual East Anglian subjects, cloud shadows moving across the fell.
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