A Sluice, perhaps on the Stour
About the painting
This study of a sluice gate on a millstream may depict Dedham lock on the River Stour. Its sombre colours and agitated brushwork resemble the landscapes of the 17th-century Dutch painter Jacob Ruysdael, which Constable greatly admired.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 131-1888
Meanwhile, in the life of John Constable
The whole life1824–1828
The family in Brighton for Maria’s health
When Maria began to show symptoms of tuberculosis, Constable took lodgings for the family in Brighton in the hope that sea air would restore her health, dividing his time between Brighton and Charlotte Street in London. He was unsure at first that Brighton suited painting, and complained to Fisher that the beach was only Piccadilly by the sea.
23 November 1828
The death of his wife Maria
After the birth of their seventh child the family returned to Hampstead, where Maria died of tuberculosis at the age of 41. “Hourly do I feel the loss of my departed Angel,” Constable wrote to his brother.
1828–1837
A widower with seven children
For the rest of his life Constable dressed in black and brought up his seven children alone; according to Leslie he was “a prey to melancholy and anxious thoughts”. Several of the children also painted, notably Lionel.
February 1829
Elected to the Royal Academy at fifty-two
In February 1829, three months after his wife’s death, Constable was elected a member of the Royal Academy, at the age of 52.
31 March 1837
Death in the night, probably of heart failure
Constable died on the night of 31 March 1837, apparently of heart failure (another account names dyspepsia), and was buried beside Maria.
![Vallon à Helmingham [Helmingham Dell], Constable, John, 1e quart du XIXe siècle (peint à l'été 1823 (selon Beckett)) (1823)](https://collections.louvre.fr/media/cache/large/0000000021/0000065616/0000312650_OG.JPG)
