Turner and Constable Hit the Screen

"The film of the exhibition, which is an account of the gentle clash of two titans, takes us on a smooth camera glide from room to room, homing in on individual paintings, often to the accompaniment of music which sounds sweetly lulling and timeless, and was in fact written specifically for this film by Asa Bennett."

"To engage with a painting is a singular, highly personal, face-to-face business. Images mediated by film risk a loss of engagement, a loss of that crucial encounter with the tactile meaning of a smooth - or, perhaps better still, a crusty - surface."

"From time to time, snatches of the poetry of James Thomson, author of (originally published in 1730), a work much celebrated during the poet's lifetime, are read out loud."

"The liveliest of these, in fact the only one who is ever seen much separated from the seat of his chair, is Lachlan Goudie, a Scotsman who is a painter of landscape himself."

The film 'Turner & Constable: Rivals and Originals' showcases the rivalry between two prominent 19th-century landscape painters, Turner and Constable, at Tate Britain. It features smooth camera movements over their paintings, accompanied by original music. The film also includes contemporary footage of locations significant to the artists, such as Dedham Vale and London. Experts, including painter Lachlan Goudie, provide insights into the artworks, enhancing the viewer's understanding of the artists' lives and their creative processes.

Read at Hyperallergic