John Constable, 'Salisbury Cathedral and Leadenhall from the River Avon', 1820
About the work
Overview
Constable painted Salisbury Cathedral many times from different viewpoints. Some of these pictures were oil sketches made outdoors like this one, while others were large pictures intended for exhibition. This sketch was created during Constable’s six-week visit to Salisbury in the summer of 1820.
The view is from the further bank of the River Avon, looking east across the meadows and the backs of houses in the Close surrounding the spired Cathedral. On the right is Leadenhall, where Constable and his family were staying with his friend, Archdeacon John Fisher. The warm buff-coloured ground (the underlying layer of paint used to prepare the canvas) shows through the paint of the sky, and has been left exposed in many places in the foliage and foreground. The flicks, dots and dashes of thick unblended paint, which make up the figures and reflections on the water, reveal the spontaneity and freshness of Constable’s technique.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Salisbury Cathedral and Leadenhall from the River Avon
- Artist
- John Constable
- Artist dates
- 1776 - 1837
- Date made
- 1820
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 52.7 × 77 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Salting Bequest, 1910
- Inventory number
- NG2651
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Judy Egerton, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings’, London 2000; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2011Constable and Salisbury: The Soul of LandscapeThe Salisbury Museum20 May 2011 - 25 September 2011
Bibliography
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1946Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: British School, London 1946
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1946M. Davies, Paintings and Drawings on the Backs of National Gallery Pictures, London 1946
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1952R. Beckett, 'Constable at Leydenhall', The Burlington Magazine, XCIV, 1952, pp. 115-6
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1959Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: British School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1959
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1977G. Reynolds, John Constable: Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds, Ottawa 1977
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1981G. Reynolds, A Dealer's Record: Agnew's, 1967-81, London 1981
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1991L. Parris and I. Fleming-Williams, Constable, (exh. cat. Tate Gallery, 13 June - 15 September 1991), London 1991
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1998J. Egerton, The British School, London 1998
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2000Egerton, Judy, National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings, revised edn, London 2000
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.