Artwork
Landscape: a stream running between trees
Landscape: a stream running between trees is a drawing by the Romanticist artist John Constable. It dates from 1796 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
That same year he met a writer collecting rural scenes, but none of Constable’s sketches made it into the final book.
John Constable made this early landscape drawing in 1796. It shows a stream between trees in Suffolk. The sketchbook it comes from is one of his earliest dated works.
Constable wasn’t planning to be an artist yet. His father wanted him in the family business. That same year he met a writer collecting rural scenes, but none of Constable’s sketches made it into the final book.
Check out more of Constable’s drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
This 1796 drawing by John Constable depicts a Suffolk landscape featuring a stream between trees. It is one of the artist's earliest dated works.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing captures a serene natural scene, reflecting Constable's interest in rural scenery. The subject matter was likely influenced by his surroundings and his interactions with collectors of rural scenes.
Technique & Style
The light and somewhat tentative style of the drawing is characteristic of Constable's early work, indicating his developing skill as a draughtsman.
History & Provenance
The drawing is from a sketchbook Constable created in 1796, a year in which he was still undecided about pursuing an artistic career. He shared some sketches from this book with writer J. T. 'Antiquity' Smith, who was compiling a book on rural scenery.
Context
In 1796, Constable's future career path was uncertain, with his father expecting him to join the family business. His meeting with Smith that year was an early opportunity for his work to be seen beyond his local circle.
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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