Art historians have long acknowledged that both J.M.W. Turner and John Constable served as the twin catalysts for Modern art. However, while Turner the revolutionary often dominates public consciousness with films celebrating his work, a museum and prestigious prize bearing his name, and his own dedicated hall of honor in the magnificent Clore Gallery at Tate Britain, Constable remains significantly underappreciated as an artist. Due to both familiarity and institutional bias, his role as a groundbreaking painter has become nearly invisible to the general public.
The disparity in recognition between these two masters is striking. Currently, the only room in Britain devoted to Constable's paintings sits tucked away at the far end of the Clore Gallery, further emphasizing Turner's dominance in the art world hierarchy. Even more telling, there is no permanent gallery honoring Constable in his native Dedham Vale, the pastoral landscape that inspired many of his greatest works. Instead, that region houses a museum dedicated to Alfred Munnings, who was notably opposed to Modernist art movements.
This imbalance extends to popular culture as well. While Turner's portrait and "The Fighting Temeraire" grace the back of the £20 note, Constable's beloved "The Hay Wain" is relegated to appearing on jigsaw puzzles. The contrast reflects how differently British society values these two pivotal figures in art history.
The ongoing rivalry and comparison between these artists takes center stage in "Turner and Constable," a major exhibition opening at Tate Britain today and running until April 12, 2026. The fundamental differences between these two figures, born just one year apart yet seemingly from different artistic epochs, will be perfectly illustrated through a key comparison. The exhibition recreates their 1831 Royal Academy display, juxtaposing Constable's "Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows" (1831) with Turner's "Caligula's Palace and Bridge" (circa 1831).
Constable's cathedral painting embodies everything quintessentially English, described as "more English than a cup of weak tea in a National Trust cafe." In stark contrast, Turner's Italianate scene presents an image of thoroughly un-British fire, ruin, and imperial excess. A contemporary critic aptly described their contrasting styles as "fire and water," a comment that has defined their artistic rivalry to this day.
It's easy to understand why Turner has claimed the top position in art historical prominence. The sinful decadence of Caligula's palace will always captivate audiences more than the conservative respectability of Salisbury Cathedral, particularly among bohemian and artistic circles. Constable also bears some responsibility for his lesser recognition, as he consistently avoided the spotlight throughout his career, much to his family's and supporters' frustration.
As his supporter George Beaumont once wrote to him, Constable's paintings "do not leap forward and illuminate a room" in the same dramatic way as works by Turner or Rubens. However, this assessment overlooks the truly revolutionary nature of Constable's approach, particularly evident in his famous full-size sketches, which demonstrate techniques even more radical than Turner's and had a far deeper, more lasting impact on Modern painting.
One particularly telling story from Constable's early career involves his friendship with John Dunthorne, a local plumber and handyman whose cottage still stands in East Bergholt, adjacent to where the grand Constable family home once stood. According to this account, Dunthorne encouraged Constable to paint on different canvases at various times of day in the Vale of Dedham to capture changing light effects. This suggests that Modern art was essentially invented by "a plumber from East Anglia."
While this story may be too neat to be entirely accurate, and other artists were certainly painting outdoors before Constable and Dunthorne's collaboration, it points to a fundamental truth about artistic innovation. Artists like Eugène Boudin and Claude Monet would likely have developed similar techniques independently, but the anecdote highlights Constable's genuine contributions to European painting. Before Francis Bacon emerged, Constable was the only English painter to achieve meaningful international recognition and secure a permanent place in European art history.
Turner, despite his undeniable greatness and strong support from influential critic John Ruskin, remained either in Monet's shadow or too far ahead of his time to gain significant contemporary influence. This dynamic continues to affect how painters view both artists today. Constable's full-size oil study for "The Leaping Horse" (circa 1825), quietly displayed in the upper galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum, serves as a far more important guiding light for contemporary painters than anything currently hanging in the Clore Gallery.
This raises the question of whether it's time for Constable to receive his own gallery of honor, assuming such recognition is even possible in today's museum landscape. After all, he was a founding figure of Modern art whose work extends far beyond jigsaw puzzles and National Trust tea shop merchandise. The recent surprising announcement that the National Gallery plans to collect Modern and contemporary art and construct a new wing to display it might provide an opportunity for such recognition, though securing his greatest paintings from other institutions would present significant challenges.
The works of both artists remain urgently relevant to contemporary issues. Turner's great symbolic contribution centers on extreme weather events, while Constable's focuses on renewable energy sources like water and wind mills operating under natural sunlight. Where Turner's paintings present images of a world experiencing climatic breakdown through floods and fires, Constable's work offers a solution: a world powered entirely by renewable energy from wind, water, and solar sources.
