Flatford Lock and Cottage Bridge, Suffolk

John Constable , English, 1776-1837

Title

Date1827

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensions

22.1 x 32.9 cm

Signed5th October 1827

Credit LinePurchased, 1892

Object numberNGI.2057

DescriptionJohn Constable, along with J.M.W. Turner, was the leading exponent of British landscape painting in the nineteenth century. His work was inspired by the landscapes of the Dutch masters, to whose tradition he added his own freshness of vision and genuine love of nature. Unlike Turner, he never travelled abroad, preferring to explore the gentle rolling landscapes of his native Suffolk and surrounding counties. This delicate pencil sketch depicts the run-down lock at Flatford. The feathery lines of the willow trees give the impression that a light breeze is blowing. Some faint colour notes are visible in the sky area. Constable was scornful of artificiality and always tried to convey the 'truth' of a landscape.
ProvenancePurchased, Christie's, London, 17 June 1892, Miss Isabel Constable Sale, lot 177 Exhibition HistoryDrawings from the National Gallery of Ireland, Wildenstein, London/New York, 1967

Master European Drawings From the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minnesota; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983