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Study of Cirrus Clouds

Oil Painting
ca. 1822 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Constable, John (RA) (artist)
Place of origin
Great Britain (painted)

Constable inscribed 'cirrus' on the reverse of this sketch. It shows his countryman's understanding of the weather. He also owned a copy of Researches about Atmospheric Phaenomena by Thomas Forster. It was published in 1815 'with a series of engravings, illustrative of the modifications of the clouds'.

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Discover more about this object
read John Constable's sketches Today, the pencil, pen, watercolour and oil sketches produced by John Constable (1776 – 1837) in the open air are valued for their freshness and vitality. However, at the time when Constable was working, the public expected a highly polished oil painting, executed in the studio.

Object details

Category
Paintings
Object type
Oil painting
TitleStudy of Cirrus Clouds (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Oil on paper
Oil Painting
Brief description
Oil sketch of Clouds by John Constable, England, c.1822
Physical description
Blue, white, and grey study of wispy cirrus clouds.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 114mm
  • Estimate width: 178mm
  • Frame height: 45.2cm
  • Frame width: 50.2cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973
Style
British School
Marks and inscriptions
'Painted by John Constable R.A.' (Inscribed on the back in ink, over an earlier inscription in ink (now illegible), which appears to have been written by the artist and perhaps reads 'cirrus')
Credit line
Given by Isabel Constable
Object history
Given by Isabel Constable, 1888
Historical context
In 1822 Constable's exhibits at the Royal Academy included: 'View on the Stour near Dedham' (now in the Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino) (see sketch-book No. 132, p. 52), 'View from the Terrace, Hampstead' (see No. 252) and 'A study of Trees from Nature' (see No. 223). Constable's fourth child Isabel, the donor of the greater part of the collection catalogued here, was born at No. 2 Lower Terrace, Hampstead, on 23 August.

[G Reynolds, 1973, p. 152]
Subject depicted
Clouds
Summary
Constable inscribed 'cirrus' on the reverse of this sketch. It shows his countryman's understanding of the weather. He also owned a copy of Researches about Atmospheric Phaenomena by Thomas Forster. It was published in 1815 'with a series of engravings, illustrative of the modifications of the clouds'.
Bibliographic references
  • Morris, Edward, ed. Constable's Clouds: Paintings and Cloud Studies by John Constable , Edinburgh : National Galleries of Scotland ; Liverpool : National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, c2000. 176 p. : ill. (some col.). ISBN 1903278058 (paperback), 1903278066 (hardback).
  • Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, pp. 152, 153
  • Feaver, William, Lucian Freud on John Constable, London, British Council, 2003
Other number
250, plate 189 - Reynolds catalogue no.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
784-1888

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Record createdJuly 24, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82649/study-of-cirrus-clouds-oil-painting-constable-john-ra/
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