Milford Bridge
c. 1826
Medium
etching on wove paper [1st state]
Dimensions
plate: 13.3 x 19 cm (5 1/4 x 7 1/2 in.) sheet: 19.3 x 24.2 cm (7 5/8 x 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1987.4.2
Art Historical Context
John Constable's *Milford Bridge* (c. 1826) captures the serene beauty of the English countryside, a hallmark of the artist's lifelong passion for his native Suffolk landscapes. As a leading figure in British Romanticism, Constable revolutionized landscape painting by emphasizing direct observation from nature, often sketching en plein air to convey fleeting atmospheric effects like light and cloud formations. This etching depicts the picturesque Milford Bridge, likely near his beloved Dedham Vale, evoking the tranquility and everyday poetry of rural Britain during the Industrial Revolution's ...
About the Artist
John Constable · 1776–1837
John Constable (1776-1837) was an English landscape painter whose naturalistic depictions of the Suffolk countryside revolutionized landscape painting and established him, alongside J.M.W. Turner, as one of England's greatest artists. His work pioneered the direct observation of nature that would later influence the French Barbizon school and, ultimately, Impressionism. Born in East Bergholt, Suf...