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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

The Cottage in a Cornfield

Oil Painting
ca. 1817-ca.1833 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Constable, John (RA) (artist)
Place of origin
Great Britain (painted)

Though left unfinished until March 1833, Constable based the donkey in this painting on a life study done in December 1815. The corn in the field remains green on the side shaded from the sun, but is ripe elsewhere, suggesting it is set in the month of July.

Object details

Category
Paintings
Object type
Oil painting
TitleThe Cottage in a Cornfield (popular title)
Materials and techniques
oil on canvas
Oil Paint
Canvas
Oil Painting
Brief description
Oil painting, 'The Cottage in a Cornfield', John Constable, ca. 1817-ca. 1833
Physical description
Painting of a donkey standing by a gate, in front of a cottage in a cornfield.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 62cm
  • Estimate width: 51.5cm
  • Frame height: 950mm
  • Frame width: 850mm
  • Frame depth: 105mm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973 Frame measured by Zoe Allen: 950H x 850W x 105D
Style
British School
Marks and inscriptions
'No. 3 Cottage in a Corn field--John Constable 35 Charlotte Street' (Inscribed by the artist in ink, apparently touched with oil paint on a label formerly on the back of the frame but now preserved in the Department of Paintings. Anothe line has been torn off. This label is in the form used by the artist for his exhibits at the Royal Academy.)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Isabel Constable as the gift of Maria Louisa Constable, Isabel Constable and Lionel Bicknell Constable
Object history
Bequeathed by Isabel Constable as the gift of Maria Louisa Constable, Isabel Constable and Lionel Bicknell Constable, 1888
Historical context
'In 1833 Constable exhibited four oil paintings and three drawings at the Royal Academy: the former included 'Englefield House, Berkshire ... morning' (see Nos. 340-344 [345-1888, 255-1888, 1258-1888, 1258a-1888, 1258b-1888]) and 'Cottage in a Cornfield' (No. 352 [1631-1888]). He gave his first lecture in Hampstead this year. '

[G Reynolds, 1973, p. 210]
Subject depicted
Landscape
Summary
Though left unfinished until March 1833, Constable based the donkey in this painting on a life study done in December 1815. The corn in the field remains green on the side shaded from the sun, but is ripe elsewhere, suggesting it is set in the month of July.
Bibliographic references
  • Parris, Leslie and Fleming-Williams, Ian. Constable London : The Tate Gallery, 1991 no.77
  • Graham Reynolds, Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, pp. 210-212
  • Evans, M., with N. Costaras and C. Richardson, John Constable. Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A, 2011, p. 32, fig. 29.
  • p. 90 David Jackson, Werner Busch, Jenny Reynaerts, Andreas Blühm, and Ruud Schenk Romanticism in the North : from Friedrich to Turner. Groningen : Groninger Museum ; Zwolle : WBooks, [2017]. ISBN: 9789462582415
Other number
352, frontispiece - Reynolds catalogue no.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
1631-1888

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Record createdMay 13, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O80700/the-cottage-in-a-cornfield-oil-painting-constable-john-ra/
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