Flanders and Swann; Tom and Jerry. Some things come in pairs. Like Turner and Constable, even though our two most famous painters were more like chalk and cheese than cheese and pickle.

They were close contemporaries: Turner was born in 1775, Constable a year later. Both painted landscapes. But that’s almost all they had in common. In every other way that matters, personal and artistic, they could hardly have been more different.

Turner was a prodigy, a student at the Royal Academy Schools from the age of 14 and an associate (ARA) at 24. That same year, Constable had only just enrolled in the Schools, and was not elected ARA until he was 33. Constable did not become a full RA until the age of 52, while Turner had been one since he was 27.

The curator, the Tate’s excellent Amy Concannon, was clearly well aware of what can seem a yawning gulf between this legendary duo, and yet decided to take the challenge head on. The first room lays out the glaring differences in a timeline tracing their careers.

The exhibition functions as a series of confrontations,........

© The Spectator