A windmill, probably on the Downs near Brighton thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H , Case WD, Shelf 19

A windmill, probably on the Downs near Brighton

Drawing
ca 1824
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A windmill, probably on the Downs near Brighton.
The sheet of paper on which the drawing is made has two vertical folds at the left-hand side, and a strip of about 15 mm. at this side is not drawn on. Along the left-hand of the two folds is a line of holes which may be sewing marks: these are 262 mm. from the right-hand edge, the same distance as the corresponding marks on No. 273 [Museum No. 605-1888]. This and the discoloration of the right-hand side suggest that the sheet may have come from the sketch-book discussed in the note following No. 262, to which No. 273-276 have been related. The style of drawing, and the method by which the outlines of the clouds are drawn with the point of the brush, show that the drawing was in any event made at about the same time as Nos. 275 and 276 (Museum No. and 276). The subject is therefore likely to be near Brighton.

Graham Reynolds.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleA windmill, probably on the Downs near Brighton
Materials and techniques
Grey wash on paper
Brief description
Drawing, A Windmill, probably on the Downs near Brighton, by John Constable, wash on paper, c.1824
Physical description
A windmill, probably on the Downs near Brighton.
The sheet of paper on which the drawing is made has two vertical folds at the left-hand side, and a strip of about 15 mm. at this side is not drawn on. Along the left-hand of the two folds is a line of holes which may be sewing marks: these are 262 mm. from the right-hand edge, the same distance as the corresponding marks on No. 273 [Museum No. 605-1888]. This and the discoloration of the right-hand side suggest that the sheet may have come from the sketch-book discussed in the note following No. 262, to which No. 273-276 have been related. The style of drawing, and the method by which the outlines of the clouds are drawn with the point of the brush, show that the drawing was in any event made at about the same time as Nos. 275 and 276 (Museum No. and 276). The subject is therefore likely to be near Brighton.

Graham Reynolds.
Dimensions
  • Height: 18cm
  • Width: 27,4cm
  • Image height: 179mm
  • Image width: 272mm
Measurements taken from Reynolds Catalogue 1973
Object history
Isabel Constable bequest 1888
Historical context
In 1824 Constable's sole exhibit at the Royal Academy was 'A Boat passing a Lock' ('The Lock') (now in the collection of Mr. S. Morrison). 'The Hay Wain', the 'View on the Stour near Dedham' and a 'View of Hampstead Heath' were exhibited at the Salon in Paris in this year. He took his wife and family to Brighton for the first time in May, and himself spent some time in London and some with them in Brighton, returning before them at the end of August.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Bibliographic reference
Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, cat. no. 277, p. 172-173, ill. plate 211
Other number
277 - Reynolds catalogue no.
Collection
Accession number
245-1888

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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