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| John Constable View at Epsom 1809 oil on panel Tate Britain |
"The rectangular format of the study, together with its open vista and low horizon, allows Constable to devote a much larger area than usual to the representation of the sky."
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| John Constable Malvern Hall, Warwickshire 1809 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"This view of Malvern Hall in Warwickshire, seen from raised ground across a stretch of water, recalls a long tradition of country house portraiture which goes back to the seventeenth century. Yet it appears to have been painted for Constable's own interest rather than being a formal, commissioned work."
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| John Constable East Bergholt House ca. 1809 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"Constable was deeply attached to his birthplace, East Bergholt House, which his father had built when Flatford Mill became too small for his growing family. Although the house no longer exists (it was pulled down in 1840 or 1841), the stable block and an outbuilding survive."
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| John Constable Dedham from Langham ca/ 1813 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"Constable described the subject as follows: This view of the beautiful valley of the Stour . . . is taken from Langham, an elevated spot to the NW of Dedham, where the elegance of the tower of Dedham church is seen to much advantage, being opposed to a branch of the sea at Harwich where this meandering river loses itself. This tower from all points forms a characteristic feature of the Vale."
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| John Constable Brightwell Church and Village 1815 oil on panel Tate Britain |
"This painting was commissioned in 1815 by the Revd FH Barnwell, a Suffolk antiquary who took a particular interest in the village of Brightwell near Ipswich. It shows the view looking north towards the church and includes, on the right, a farm formed from the outbuildings of the demolished Brightwell Hall. Constable rarely undertook commissions of this kind and the result is unlike any of his other works. It is as small as the oil sketches he made for his own reference, but as highly finished as any of his exhibition pictures."
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| John Constable Flatford Mill (scene on a navigable river) 1816-17 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"The Constable family business was at Flatford, about a mile from East Bergholt. The family had a watermill on the Stour for grinding corn, and a dry dock for building the barges to transport grain to Mistley for shipment to London, as well as a watermill upstream at Dedham. The passage up and down the river required the use of horse-drawn barges; the ropes had to be disconnected in order to allow the barges to be poled under Flatford bridge."
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| John Constable A Cornfield ca. 1817 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"This study is thought to be one of the works Constable began outdoors in Suffolk in 1817, but did not finish. When he was looking for a subject to work up for the 1826 Royal Academy exhibition, he turned to this canvas and from it painted the picture known as The Cornfield (now in the National Gallery). It was probably while preparing the finished picture that he lowered the trees at the right of this sketch by overpainting them with sky."
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| John Constable Gillingham Bridge, Dorset 1823 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"In 1811 Dr John Fisher introduced his nephew, John Fisher, to Constable. The younger Fisher became the artist's closest friend, providing moral and financial support whenever they were needed and often purchasing works from Constable which he could ill afford. In 1819 Fisher became Vicar of Gillingham in Dorset, and Constable was invited to stay there in 1820 and again in 1823. On the second occasion he painted this picture of the bridge with the village church beyond."
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| John Constable Harnham Ridge, Salisbury ca. 1820 or 1829 oil on paper Tate Britain |
"Constable stayed at Salisbury with his great friend, Archdeacon John Fisher, on several occasions, but only in 1820 or 1829 for any length of time. This sketch could date from either visit. It is one of a number he made either from Leadenhall, Fisher's house in the Close, or from its gardens stretching down to the river Avon. Many of them, like this one, concentrate on the sky."
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| John Constable A Bank on Hampstead Heath ca. 1820-22 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"Between 1819 and 1826 Constable rented a house at Hampstead nearly every summer and made many oil sketches of the surrounding landscape and skies. In 1827 he moved there permanently. Constable was fascinated with the broken textures of the heath, and made of a number of studies of it seen from close to. Some of these are quite highly finished, like this example."
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| John Constable Cloud Study 1822 oil on paper Tate Britain |
"Constable's studies of skies show a remarkable understanding of the structure and movement of clouds. Most also give a good impression of their three-dimensional volume. The studies vary in size. This is one of only four examples he painted on a larger format. The larger the scale the more difficult Constable found it to balance crispness of detail with speed of execution. This is why the larger clouds tend to be more generalised."
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| John Constable The Gleaners, Brighton 1824 oil on paper, mounted on canvas Tate Britain |
"Rural themes offered nineteenth-century urban art audiences an invigorating view of a healthier way of life. However, many people also escaped the city in reality. Brighton in particular became a popular resort. John Constable went there with his wife Maria in 1824, for the sake of her health. This sketch of women gathering stray sheaves of corn after the harvest was made outdoors on the Downs above Brighton in August."
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| John Constable A Windmill near Brighton 1824 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
"Most of the oil sketches and drawings Constable produced during his visits to Brighton were made on the beach. From here he portrayed the sea and storm-filled skies, colliers and their boats, and also the chain pier and the buildings of the still developing summer resort. Constable also painted on the downs above Brighton, sometimes employing a windmill as his focal point."
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| John Constable The Sea near Brighton 1826 oil on paper Tate Britain |
"In new year 1826 Constable joined his family at Brighton and stayed for a fortnight. This bold study is one of only two paintings he made during this visit. It is also one of the very few oil sketches he executed outdoors in winter."
– all quoted passages based on notes by curators at the Tate in London