DETAIL: John CONSTABLE,  Great Britain 1776 � 1837  'Harwich Lighthouse' c.1820 oil on canvas Tate, London, gift of Maria Louisa Constable, Isabel Constable and Lionel Bicknell Constable in 1888 Tate, London 2005
 
 
John CONSTABLE | Cloud study: evening
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CONSTABLE, John
Great Britain 1776 – 1837
Cloud study: evening
[Study of clouds at evening]
31 August 1822
oil on paper
47.0 (h) x 58.0 (w) cm
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, presented by John Feeney in 1929.
VIEW: Article |

In this pure sky study Constable painted streets of cumulus clouds that lacked sufficient vertical depth to produce rain. He showed blue sky to the left with flakes of cirrostratus that suggest fine weather would follow. There is good agreement between Constable’s inscription and the weather records for the London area on that day, which noted a westerly air stream (Thornes 1999, p. 264).

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