''Stratford Mill'' is an 1820 oil on canvas painting by the British
landscape
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
artist
John Constable
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) 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 ...
. It is the second painting in the series of
six-footers depicting working scenes on the
River Stour, a series that includes ''
The Hay Wain
''The Hay Wain'' – originally titled ''Landscape: Noon'' – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs in the National Galler ...
''. The painting is now in the collection of the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
Description
The scene is
Stratford St. Mary
Stratford St. Mary is a village in Suffolk, England in the heart of 'Constable Country'. John Constable painted a number of paintings in and around Stratford.
Stratford (the ford of the Roman ''Via Strata'') with its attached hamlet of Higham ...
about two miles west of
East Bergholt
East Bergholt is a village in the Babergh District of Suffolk, England, just north of the Essex border.
The nearest town and railway station is Manningtree, Essex. East Bergholt is north of Colchester and south of Ipswich. Schools includ ...
. Stratford Mill was a water-powered paper mill, located on a small island just outside the village, it can be seen on the far left of the picture. Constable made a sketch of children fishing by the mill in 1811 now known as ''Anglers at Stratford Mill'' (private collection), but this view extends to display more of the river, a barge and the meadow across the way.
History
After the success of his first 'six-footer' ''
The White Horse'', Constable abandoned plans to paint his large canvas ''The Opening of Waterloo Bridge seen from Whitehall Stairs, 18 June 1817'', in favour of submitting a second Stour series painting. ''Stratford Mill'' was exhibited at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...
exhibition in 1820 and was a success.
The Examiner described it as having ''‘a more exact look of nature than any picture we have ever seen by an Englishman’''. It acquired a buyer in the loyal
John Fisher
John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
Fisher was executed by o ...
, who purchased the painting for 100 Guineas, a price he himself thought too low. He gifted the painting to his solicitor and friend John Pern Tinney. Tinney loved the painting and offered Constable another 100 Guineas to paint a companion picture, Constable declined. In the years to follow Tinney would have to put up with numerous requests from Constable to borrow back his prized possession for rework and exhibitions. After Tinney's death
David Lucas produced a mezzotint, which was published in 1840 under the name ''‘The Young Waltonians’'' in reference to the
Izaak Walton
Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of '' The Compleat Angler'', he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been coll ...
book, ''
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London.
Walton continue ...
''.
The full size oil sketch is held by the
Yale Center for British Art
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
.
YCBA: Sketch for Stratford Mill
/ref>
See also
* List of paintings by John Constable
This is an incomplete list of the paintings of John Constable ( 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837), an artist of the Romanticism, famous for his rural scenes.
Timeline
* 1776–1809 Early Years
* 1809–1816 Early Maturity
* 1817–1828 Establi ...
* '' The White Horse''
* ''The Hay Wain
''The Hay Wain'' – originally titled ''Landscape: Noon'' – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs in the National Galler ...
''
* '' The Lock''
References
Bibliography
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External links
The National Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratford Mill
Paintings by John Constable
Collections of the National Gallery, London
1820 paintings
Water in art
England in art