Approaching Storm, Salisbury

In the summer of 1924 Richard spent some time in London in preparation for starting at the Slade the following January. He records seeing a Constable on a vist to the National Gallery which may have some bearing on his decision to paint this work:

"At the National Gallery there was a large painting on loan which made a great impression on me. It was Constable’s “Salisbury Cathedral with thunder storm clearing up” [Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831)]. I had never before seen a picture in which one really seemed to be standing in the landscape and the …

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In the summer of 1924 Richard spent some time in London in preparation for starting at the Slade the following January. He records seeing a Constable on a vist to the National Gallery which may have some bearing on his decision to paint this work:

"At the National Gallery there was a large painting on loan which made a great impression on me. It was Constable’s “Salisbury Cathedral with thunder storm clearing up” [Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831)]. I had never before seen a picture in which one really seemed to be standing in the landscape and the clouds were overhead. The magnificent sky, perhaps one of the finest ever painted, was like a cauldron and one could sense the reverberations of receding thunder."

The intensity of the light which often occurs before a storm, while much darker, reminds me of the strong light (and rainbows!) in The Blind Girl (1856) by Millais.