Brighton, July 20th 1824
Artist
John Constable
(1776 - 1837)
Date1824
MediumOil on cardboard
Dimensions22.2 x 38.1 cm
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery.
Donated by the Earl of Dunraven, K.P., 1905.
Object number543
DescriptionJohn Constable sought to portray the English countryside in all its wildness, transience and beauty. Throughout his career he painted out of doors making small, rapidly executed sketches that he would also occasionally annotate with precise details of dates, times and weather conditions. These works provided Constable with a rich visual archive from which he would draw upon, sometimes many years later, when working on large landscapes completed in his studio. Constable predominantly painted the landscape of his native Suffolk and around Hampstead where he lived permanently from 1827. In 1816 he married Maria Bicknell. When his wife was diagnosed with tuberculosis it was hoped that the sea air around Brighton would help relieve her symptoms. Although the fashionable sea resort was not really to his taste, Constable made a number of drawings and oil sketches of Brighton and its coastline and this precisely dated work depicting a storm-laden sky, was made shortly after his first visit there in May 1824. This year was a momentous one for Constable as his most famous work The Haywain was awarded the gold medal at the Paris Salon reflecting the high esteem with which his work was held in France. (JO'D)
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