Artwork
A barge on the Stour
A barge on the Stour is a watercolor work on paper by the Romanticist artist John Constable. It dates from 1832 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
A working waterway in his father’s coal trade, the Stour often showed up in his art.
John Constable painted A Barge on the Stour around 1832. A working waterway in his father’s coal trade, the Stour often showed up in his art. This watercolor shows a horse pulling a barge, practical, not fancy.
The colors are rich and the watercolor moves freely. He added white highlights for light on the water. It comes from a sketchbook page he used that year.
See more sketches by Constable at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
A Barge on the Stour is a watercolour painting by John Constable, created around 1832. It is part of a sketchbook page from that year.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a working waterway scene on the River Stour, significant to Constable's family due to its role in his father's coal trading business. A horse is shown pulling a barge, illustrating the river's practical use.
Technique & Style
The watercolour is characterised by rich colours and a free handling of the medium. Highlights are achieved through the addition of touches of white, creating a sense of light on the water.
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Artist & collection
Artist
John Constable was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the area on the…
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Archdeacon John Fisher with his dogs, Salisbury
A thatched cottage and two figures
Willy Lott's House
River Stour, Suffolk
A bridge over the Stour
A brook with a high bank
The Ford
Hampstead Heath, from near Well Walk
A bridge over a stream, with a cottage behind
River with Barges
Stowe: a church in the distance, seen amid trees