_(attributed_to)_-_Summer_Sunset_-_WA1937.74_-_Ashmolean_Museum.jpg&width=1200)
Summer Sunset
John Constable·c. 1807
Historical Context
This summer sunset from around 1807, in the Ashmolean Museum, captures the dramatic light effects that Constable studied throughout his career. Sunset scenes allowed him to explore the full chromatic range of the sky and the transformative effect of colored light on landscape. Constable's technique of working with rapid, spontaneous brushwork to capture transient natural effects was revolutionary; he made full-scale oil sketches for his large exhibition paintings, treating the sketch as a vehicl
Technical Analysis
Constable renders the sunset sky with warm oranges and golds, allowing the colored light to suffuse the entire landscape and demonstrating his sensitivity to the unifying effect of specific lighting conditions.
Look Closer
- ◆Look at the sunset colors — the warm oranges and golds that Constable uses to capture the declining light, the sky rendered with the full chromatic range of a summer sunset over the Ashmolean's landscape.
- ◆Notice how the sunset light suffuses the entire landscape below — Constable renders the warm reflected light that a sunset casts on the ground and trees, the entire landscape bathed in the day's final warmth.
- ◆Observe the specific atmospheric quality of sunset — the particular combination of warm colors and the slight haziness that accompanies the low angle of evening light.
- ◆Find any specific landscape feature visible in the sunset light — the setting sun transforming familiar landscape elements into something more poetic, Constable documenting this transformation.
_-_Landscape%2C_516-1870.jpg&width=600)
.jpg&width=600)