- Museum number
- 1842,1210.61
- Title
-
Object: Hampstead Heath, with St Paul's in the distance
-
Series: 'English Landscape': Various Subjects of Landscape, Characteristic of English Scenery, from Pictures Painted by John Constable, R.A
- Description
-
View of Hampstead Heath, London; figure walking to left over hillock, beside stream, two donkeys seen below at right, rainbow in sky above them; after Constable (Reynolds 29.58); progress proof, before letters. 1831
Mezzotint
- Production date
- 1831
- Dimensions
-
Height: 167 millimetres
-
Width: 228 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- Early progress proofs are dated 1829; the plate is not mentioned in correspondence until 1830; first published in 1832 in the fifth number of the first edition of the series; reappeared in the fifth number of the second.
One of a series of mezzotints engraved by Lucas from the paintings of Constable. Shirley suggests that the genesis of Contable's plans for a series of prints after his paintings may have begun with a suggestion from Archdeacon Fisher in a letter of 1822 that he should have some paintings lithographed; an offer was later made that he should have certain drawings mezzotinted in England for publication in Paris, for which S W Reynolds was to have been responsible and in 1824 he wrote to Fisher that he was working up drawings from the 'Brighton Sketch Book' for the engravers, but nothing came of this. It is significant however that it was Lucas, who had been apprenticed to S W Reynolds (senior) who was employed in 1829 first to engrave a pair which were published by Hollyer: 'Approaching Storm, View on the Thames' and 'Departing Storm' and then to work on the series which became known as the 'English Landscape'. While comparison with the other major series of a similar nature, Earlom's 'Liber Veritatis' and Turner's 'Liber Studiorum' is inevitable, the driving forces behind Constable's work as stated in his introduction was to popularise English landscape and to bring the public to appreciate the 'Chiaroscuro of Nature'. Shirley describes the series as 'essentially an advertisement of his ideas and thus far of his painted works'.
Decisions regarding the number and subjects of plates changed several times: by 1829 the vignette 'Hampstead Heath' and 'Brighton Mill' had been begun and more were contemplated in January 1830 than the first number of four prints; according to Shirley, yet more were probably underway by February 1830, when Constable decided to restrict the series to eight plates; in total eleven were undertaken between January and September 1830 and a letter attributed to August that year refers to a scheme of five numbers of four prints each; by the end of 1830 Constable was proposing six numbers of four to which he in February 1831 he added a frontispiece and vignette; illness and delays then drew him back to what he qualifies as the original plan of five numbers of four with frontispiece and vignette 'given in', to which he then adhered, although talk of an 'Appendix' had begun by 1832.
Colnaghi, Moon and White of Brownlow Street were approached in 1830, but Colnaghi's is the only name which appears on the first prospectus and Brownlow's reception of the plan was discouraging: he offered to undertake the risk for 35%, which drove Constable to call Turner's series, which Brownlow had undertaken at 15%, the 'liber stupidorum'.
Twenty-two plates were published as 'Various Subjects of Landscape, Characteristic of English Scenery, from Pictures Painted by John Constable, R.A.', in five numbers of four prints each and six prints in the fifth, between June 1830 and July 1832. The series was reissued in May 1833, generally referred to as the second edition. The plates were re-issued in a different order, with a couple of modification: for example, a second plate of 'Old Sarum' (S 32) replaced the first (S 8).
By June 1832, Constable was referring to an Appendix; in October that year six plates are discussed as forming material for a sixth number: 'Old Sarum' was to be taken out to pair a new plate of 'Salisbury Cathedral' (small plate, S 30) and replaced with a new plate of 'View on the Stour' (S 21), 'Jaques' (S 15), 'Glebe Farm' which was then being changed into 'Castle Acre Priory' (S 22) and 'Stonehenge' (S 41). These plans were shelved and when, at the end of 1835 Constable again wished to print some of the 'Appendix' he refers to the second edition, for which a fresh prospectus was issued in 1834 and 1835.
Six other plates which were all considered for the English Landscape, according to Shirley, were worked on and discarded, but published after Constable's death in 1838 by Moon 'for the Proprietors', Constable's children (See 1846,1114.26). These are 'View on the Orwell' (24), 'Salisbury Cathedral', 'View on the Stour', 'Castle Acre Priory', 'Waterloo Bridge' (S 31) and 'Mill near Brighton' (S 4). A plate of 'Willy Lott's House' (S 33) was also worked on and discarded.
Constable stated in his introduction to the second edition that the collection 'originated in no mercenary views, but merely as a pleasing professional occupation, and was continued with a hope of imparting pleasure and instruction to others'. In fact, the series made a loss which Constable reckoned at £700: in 1835 he was prepared to remainder the stock in Paris for £500.
The copyright, plates and remaindered stock (over 7,000 impressions) were sold at Foster's on 12 May 1838, but bought in. Following Moon's publication, prints relating to this series are next found in Robert Leslie's 'Memoirs of the Life of John Constable' of 1843, which re-issued the original twenty-two as illustrations. An octavo edition of this book published by Longman in 1845 included a re-engraved version of 'Spring' and some copies contained a poor reprint of the Vignette 'Hampstead Heath'. In 1846, Lucas issued 'Mr David Lucas's New Series of Engravings, illustrative of English Landscape, from the Pictures of John Constable, RA', which contained two of the six plates first published by Moon, 'View on the Orwell' and 'Castle Acre Priory'; two begun under Constable's supervision, 'Willy Lott's House' and 'Jaques' and ten newly engraved prints (See 1846,1114.29). This work was supervised by Leslie, who also touched proofs for it. Finally, all but one of the prints relating to the series, the original twenty-two, the six first published by Moon and also the remaining twelve in Lucas' 1846 publication were issued by H G Böhn in 'English Landscape Scenery' in 1855. The one plate lacking was the Vignette 'Hampstead Heath' which was presumably too worn even to be printed for all the copies of Longman's edition of Leslie's 'Memoir' in 1845.
The fullest collection of Lucas prints is at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, as is extensive correspondence with Constable; Tate also holds a large collection, including ten steel plates. For further information on the series see Shirley; Francis Wedmore's 'Constable: Lucas: With a Descriptive Catalogue of the Prints', 1904' Tate ex. cat. 'The 'English Landscape' Prints of John Constable & David Lucas', 1986 and the online record for Tate T04058.
The correspondence, prospectuses and the front matter to the editions are reproduced in Shirley.
There are two further elements not discussed in the sources above: a contents page for Lucas's 'New Series' which lists a further five plates at the bottom (see 1846,1114.26) and a title-page signed by both Constable and Lucas but with the engraver's publication line, although the two editions of the 'English Landscape' series were published by Constable: 'English Landscape, from Pictures painted by [signed] John Constable R.A. Engraved by [signed] David Lucas / London: Published by the Engraver, 27, Westbourne Street, Eaton Square. Pimlico'. This may perhaps be connected to plans for the Appendix; it is also possible that Constable's signature is reproduced here and that the title-page is for the 'New Series' published by Lucas in 1846. Both are kept under Lucas.
Copies of the front matter relating to the second edition are kept in BM P&D under Lucas, as is a letter from Constable to Carpenter and a receipt from Longman addressed to Carpenter, which are transcribed below.
Brown ink on cream letter paper: 'To Mr. Wm. Carpenter / Dear Carpenter I send you another no - the 2d - which I hope you will like! perhaps it will soon be time that I should adcertize my work which has not yet been done, & we have another No. in some forwardness - / poor Lucas is in great trouble just now about his children otherwise is devoted to it. / I trust yourself & Mrs C & Children are well - we are all here and in good condition. - I have not time to call on any one nor him I am Eng to myself with my children - as I [illegible, five words] which takes me from 5 till 9 - / I am always at home on the Sunday the only day indeed - Geddes is at home returnd from Italy / I suppose your now [illegible word] much with the book of shipwrecks for my [? 'boys'] - Yours - very truly JohnConstable / 5 Jany, 1831 Charlotte Stt'.
Brown ink on blue letter paper: 'Mr Longman presents his compliments to Mr Carpenter and sends here with the plates to Constables Life / 39 Paternoster Row May 18 1847'.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1842
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1842,1210.61