John Constable, Joseph Wright, and J. M. W. Turner are three giants of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British art. Each possessed special qualities in their painting that set them apart from their contemporaries. We analyse the qualities of their major works exemplified by The Haywain, Rain, Steam and Speed and An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, but also many other fascinating examples of the artists’ pictures. We examine the lives and motivations of the artists, and obtain a comprehensive understanding of why these works have become so iconic.

This is a five week course, with no session on 23 January 2020.