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拍品专文
Soon after their marriage, Maria’s health became the overriding factor in determining where the Constables would live. Initially they tried Hampstead, spending prolonged periods there from 1819, which was still a village, within easy access of London, but sufficiently removed from it to avoid the worst of the pollution. When it became evident that Hampstead was not having the desired effect, the family began to spend prolonged periods in Brighton.
The Constable family first visited Brighton in May 1824, taking a house at Western Place near the beach at the western edge of the town. His wife and children remained in Brighton until the beginning of November, with Constable travelling down to Brighton for brief visits in May and June before spending the remainder of the summer there, from mid-July onwards. The visit must have been a success as Maria and the children returned the following August, staying until January 1826 and Maria returned a final time between May to September 1828. Each time Constable would come down for regular visits to see his family and to sketch his surroundings.
Constable was initially disdainful of Brighton describing it in a letter to his friend Fisher as 'the receptacle of the fashion and offscouring of London. The magnificence of the sea, and its (to use your own beautifull [sic] expression) everlasting voice, is drowned in the din & lost in the tumult of stage coaches - gigs - “flys” . -and the beach is only Piccadilly … by the sea-side. Ladies dressed & undressed - gentlemen in morning gowns & slippers on, or without them altogether about knee deep in the breakers - footmen - children - nursery maids, dogs, boys, fishermen - preventive service men (with hangers & pistols), rotten fish & those hideous amphibious animals the old bathing women, whose language both in oaths & voice resembles men - all are mixed up together in endless & indecent confusion. The genteeler part, the marine parade, is still more unnatural - with its trimmed and neat appearance & the dandy jetty or chain pier, with its long & elegant strides into the sea a full 1/4 of a mile. In short there is nothing here for a painter but the breakers - & sky - which have been lovely indeed and always varying. The fishing boats are picturesque, but not so much so as the Hastings boats’. However, despite its fashionableness, Brighton remained a working fishing town and as Constable began to know the town better, his opinion changed. Gradually he became more and more interested in the beach and the sea, the men and women who made their living from the sea, the picturesque qualities of the various vessels pulled up on the shore and the constantly changing atmospheric effects.
Initially during the first part of his stay during the summer of 1824, Constable worked exclusively in oils, but towards the end of August he began to make drawings as well. Some were rapidly executed pencil sketches, others more carefully worked up, such as the present work, in pen and ink or wash or watercolour. He would make studies of fishing boats pulled up on shore, fishermen drying or mending nets or sails or unloading fish, which together form a fascinating record of the life of fishermen during the early 19th Century. The breadth of handling, as well as the variety of subjects amply demonstrates Constable's deep enjoyment of the scenes. It is, however, interesting to note that despite the numerous sketches and studies Constable produced, he only made one large-scale painting of the town; Marine Parade and Chain Pier, Brighton (fig. 1).
It seems that Constable envisaged these drawings serving another purpose, perhaps as the basis for a series of engravings. Constable had met Henry Phillips in Brighton, a banker turned publisher, who had produced a number of botanical and horticultural publications and it may well have been conversations between the two men that inspired Constable to start to think about publishing engravings of his work. Furthermore, in December 1824, Constable wrote to Fisher telling him that the French picture dealer, John Arrowsmith, had engaged him 'to make twelve drawings (to be engraved here [by S. W. Reynolds] and published in Paris) all from this book size of the plates the same as the drawings. about 10 or 12 inches. I work at these in the Evening. This book is larger than my others – and does not contain odds. and ends – I wish it did - but all complete compositions – all of boats or beach scenes – and there may be about 30 of them.' (I. Fleming-Williams, Constable and his Drawings, London, 1990, p. 208).
John Arrowsmith was a keen supporter of Constable. He had earlier that year purchased The Haywain, and the View on the Stour and exhibited them at the Paris Salon, which opened at the Louvre on 25 August. They received enormous critical acclaim. Constable was awarded a gold medal by King Charles X and the Louvre attempted to purchase The Haywain for the nation. The sale was never concluded as Arrowsmith tried to insist on both oils being sold together and the Louvre decided to purchase Delacroix's Massacre at Chios, also on show at the Salon, instead. It is interesting to note that Delacroix had retouched this painting in response to seeing Constable's work, feeling his own to look 'grey' and forced, very much as if it had been produced in the studio. The accolades which Constable's work received must have made Arrowsmith keen to continue his relationship with the artist.
During the early 1820s there was great demand for beach scenes both in London and Paris and Arrowsmith must have been keen to take advantage of this. Furthermore the newly opened Royal Suspension Chain Pier allowed ferries from France to dock in Brighton for the first time, thus opening the town to French tourists, who on their return to Paris would have been keen to secure a memento of their visit. The combination of such a popular subject and an artist of Constable's stature, must have made Arrowsmith feel that the venture would be hugely successful. However, for some reason the project was never carried out and the engravings were never made.
The sketchbook from which these drawings came has been broken up and dispersed, although a number are now housed in the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The majority are carefully drawn in pencil, pen and grey wash and with ruled horizontal lines. The linear quality of the treatment of the clouds in this drawing is atypical of Constable's work, but would have been ideal for translation into engraving and suggests that this was one of the drawings made for that purpose.
Reynolds (loc.cit.) has suggested that the measurements indicate that this drawing was executed on an extended page of a sketchbook. It is in fact on a double page of the sketchbook. This format allowed Constable to locate the beach by including a glimpse of the town beyond.
The Constable family first visited Brighton in May 1824, taking a house at Western Place near the beach at the western edge of the town. His wife and children remained in Brighton until the beginning of November, with Constable travelling down to Brighton for brief visits in May and June before spending the remainder of the summer there, from mid-July onwards. The visit must have been a success as Maria and the children returned the following August, staying until January 1826 and Maria returned a final time between May to September 1828. Each time Constable would come down for regular visits to see his family and to sketch his surroundings.
Constable was initially disdainful of Brighton describing it in a letter to his friend Fisher as 'the receptacle of the fashion and offscouring of London. The magnificence of the sea, and its (to use your own beautifull [sic] expression) everlasting voice, is drowned in the din & lost in the tumult of stage coaches - gigs - “flys” . -and the beach is only Piccadilly … by the sea-side. Ladies dressed & undressed - gentlemen in morning gowns & slippers on, or without them altogether about knee deep in the breakers - footmen - children - nursery maids, dogs, boys, fishermen - preventive service men (with hangers & pistols), rotten fish & those hideous amphibious animals the old bathing women, whose language both in oaths & voice resembles men - all are mixed up together in endless & indecent confusion. The genteeler part, the marine parade, is still more unnatural - with its trimmed and neat appearance & the dandy jetty or chain pier, with its long & elegant strides into the sea a full 1/4 of a mile. In short there is nothing here for a painter but the breakers - & sky - which have been lovely indeed and always varying. The fishing boats are picturesque, but not so much so as the Hastings boats’. However, despite its fashionableness, Brighton remained a working fishing town and as Constable began to know the town better, his opinion changed. Gradually he became more and more interested in the beach and the sea, the men and women who made their living from the sea, the picturesque qualities of the various vessels pulled up on the shore and the constantly changing atmospheric effects.
Initially during the first part of his stay during the summer of 1824, Constable worked exclusively in oils, but towards the end of August he began to make drawings as well. Some were rapidly executed pencil sketches, others more carefully worked up, such as the present work, in pen and ink or wash or watercolour. He would make studies of fishing boats pulled up on shore, fishermen drying or mending nets or sails or unloading fish, which together form a fascinating record of the life of fishermen during the early 19th Century. The breadth of handling, as well as the variety of subjects amply demonstrates Constable's deep enjoyment of the scenes. It is, however, interesting to note that despite the numerous sketches and studies Constable produced, he only made one large-scale painting of the town; Marine Parade and Chain Pier, Brighton (fig. 1).
It seems that Constable envisaged these drawings serving another purpose, perhaps as the basis for a series of engravings. Constable had met Henry Phillips in Brighton, a banker turned publisher, who had produced a number of botanical and horticultural publications and it may well have been conversations between the two men that inspired Constable to start to think about publishing engravings of his work. Furthermore, in December 1824, Constable wrote to Fisher telling him that the French picture dealer, John Arrowsmith, had engaged him 'to make twelve drawings (to be engraved here [by S. W. Reynolds] and published in Paris) all from this book size of the plates the same as the drawings. about 10 or 12 inches. I work at these in the Evening. This book is larger than my others – and does not contain odds. and ends – I wish it did - but all complete compositions – all of boats or beach scenes – and there may be about 30 of them.' (I. Fleming-Williams, Constable and his Drawings, London, 1990, p. 208).
John Arrowsmith was a keen supporter of Constable. He had earlier that year purchased The Haywain, and the View on the Stour and exhibited them at the Paris Salon, which opened at the Louvre on 25 August. They received enormous critical acclaim. Constable was awarded a gold medal by King Charles X and the Louvre attempted to purchase The Haywain for the nation. The sale was never concluded as Arrowsmith tried to insist on both oils being sold together and the Louvre decided to purchase Delacroix's Massacre at Chios, also on show at the Salon, instead. It is interesting to note that Delacroix had retouched this painting in response to seeing Constable's work, feeling his own to look 'grey' and forced, very much as if it had been produced in the studio. The accolades which Constable's work received must have made Arrowsmith keen to continue his relationship with the artist.
During the early 1820s there was great demand for beach scenes both in London and Paris and Arrowsmith must have been keen to take advantage of this. Furthermore the newly opened Royal Suspension Chain Pier allowed ferries from France to dock in Brighton for the first time, thus opening the town to French tourists, who on their return to Paris would have been keen to secure a memento of their visit. The combination of such a popular subject and an artist of Constable's stature, must have made Arrowsmith feel that the venture would be hugely successful. However, for some reason the project was never carried out and the engravings were never made.
The sketchbook from which these drawings came has been broken up and dispersed, although a number are now housed in the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The majority are carefully drawn in pencil, pen and grey wash and with ruled horizontal lines. The linear quality of the treatment of the clouds in this drawing is atypical of Constable's work, but would have been ideal for translation into engraving and suggests that this was one of the drawings made for that purpose.
Reynolds (loc.cit.) has suggested that the measurements indicate that this drawing was executed on an extended page of a sketchbook. It is in fact on a double page of the sketchbook. This format allowed Constable to locate the beach by including a glimpse of the town beyond.