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Barges on the Stour, with Dedham Church in the Distance

Oil Painting
ca. 1811 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Constable, John (RA) (artist)
Place of origin
Great Britain (painted)

This oil sketch is one of the earliest to demonstrate Constable's vibrant and original mature style. The lock gates are probably near Flatford Mill. Constable was very familiar with the barges that carried grain on the River Stour.

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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
TitleBarges on the Stour, with Dedham Church in the Distance (popular title)
Materials and techniques
oil on paper laid on canvas
Oil Paint
Paper
Canvas
Oil Painting
Brief description
Oil sketch of barges on the Stour by John Constable, England, c.1811
Physical description
Landscape painting with barges, and Dedham Church in the background.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 260mm
  • Estimate width: 311mm
  • Frame height: 50.4cm (Note: Taken from frame)
  • Frame width: 54.8cm (Note: Taken from frame)
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973
Style
British School
Credit line
Given by Isabel Constable
Object history
Given by Isabel Constable, 1888
Historical context
'In the year 1811 Constable's exhibits at the Royal Academy comprised 'Twilight', and 'Dedham Vale: morning' (now in the collection of Sir Richard Proby). He visited Suffolk in the spring and paid his first visit to Salisbury in the autumn: this was probably the occasion of his first meeting with John Fisher, who was to become his closest friend. His attachment to Maria Bicknell became known during this year, and he received her father's permission to write to her in October.'

[G Reynolds, 1973, p. 69]
Subject depicted
Barges
Place depicted
Stour River
Summary
This oil sketch is one of the earliest to demonstrate Constable's vibrant and original mature style. The lock gates are probably near Flatford Mill. Constable was very familiar with the barges that carried grain on the River Stour.
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. 69, 71, 72
  • Feaver, William, Lucian Freud on John Constable, London, British Council, 2003
Other number
104, plate 63 - Reynolds catalogue no.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
325-1888

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Record createdJuly 23, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82634/barges-on-the-stour-with-oil-painting-constable-john-ra/
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