Attributed to JOHN CONSTABLE, R.A. (English 1776-1837). West Lynn, Lynmouth. Oil on panel . 10-5/8 x 14-1/4 inches (27 x...

Description

Attributed to JOHN CONSTABLE, R.A. (English 1776-1837)
West Lynn, Lynmouth
Oil on panel
10-5/8 x 14-1/4 inches (27 x 36.2 cm)
Inscribed lower right: West Lynn Lynmouth

Provenance:
Newhouse Galleries (New York);
Mr. and Mrs. F. Howard Walsh (Fort Worth, Texas);
Walsh Family Art Trust

Located on the north coast of Devonshire (southwest England), where the East and West Lynn rivers meet, the small village of Lynmouth has attracted artists in search of the picturesque since the early nineteenth century. John Murray's A Handbook for Travellers in Devon and Cornwall (1856) describes the scenery around Lynmouth as "far finer than any other of the southern counties can boast; characterized by sub-alpine valleys, impetuous streams, wild gloomy ridges, and precipices and crags which would elicit admiration even in mountainous Wales" (p. 116).

Celebrated for his fresh approach to landscape painting, John Constable executed numerous plein air oil sketches of various English topographies, often using them to produce finished studio paintings. The present work is dominated by the broadly painted sky, while details of land, vegetation, and water are loosely and summarily suggested through quickly applied brushstrokes. With such spontaneity and freedom of handling, and attention to the effects of light, this picture anticipates the work of the Impressionists.



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