Turner and Constable were two landscape artists of genius, born within a year of each other, whom art history has been keen to see as rivals. Though they had different subject matter, backgrounds and temperaments and both have gone down as world class talents so any confected conflict is an irrelevance. Turner is best known for his skyscapes and Constable for his idyllic country scenes leading Frank Auerbach to say: “There isn’t a Turner that doesn’t somehow fly and there isn’t a Constable that doesn’t burrow.”
Turner, born 23 April 1776 1.10 am (unverified) London, was the son of a barber and for him painting “represented freedom and upward mobility”.
A Sun Taurus inconjunct Saturn in Libra, he had an Earth Grand Trine of Neptune in Virgo trine Pluto trine Jupiter in Taurus, with Pluto inconjunct Mars in Leo. He had an Aquarius Moon probably and was evidently known as a ‘bit of a card’ and a practical joker as befits his Moon and two quincunxes.
John Constable, 11 June 1776 Colchester, England, had a “comfortable, privileged” upbringing as son of a Suffolk mill owner. He was a Sun Gemini with an Aries Moon, with his Pluto trine Neptune and inconjunct Jupiter. Plus an enthusiastic Venus Mars in Gemini. He was never as rich as Turner, and had to wait till he was 52 to put “RA” after his name. Initially there was little demand for paintings of the British countryside until the French awarded him a gold medal and he became known as “the father” of French landscape painting.
Their relationship chart had a friendly composite Sun Venus conjunction in an ambitious trine to Pluto and to Neptune; with a irritable composite Saturn square Mars. Not a disaster but the circumstances of their talents and the hothouse art scene would create tensions.
In a way it is odd that Turner was attracted to the wide open skies being a Sun Taurus with an Earthy Grand Trine. While Constable with his Gemini stellium and Aries Moon was drawn to nature and the earth.
The post Turner and Constable – sky and earth first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.
