A Windmill near Brighton
- Artist: John Constable
- Date: 1824
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 203 x 251 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the "A Windmill near Brighton" by John Constable. Painted on 27 July 1824, it’s a quick oil sketch that captures a quiet corner of the Sussex downs just beyond the town. Even though Constable disliked the crowds that flocked to Brighton, he found the surrounding countryside inspiring. In this study the windmill sits half‑hidden behind a gentle rise, its silhouette cutting into a field of crops and grazing animals. The landscape rolls toward the right, where the sea peeks over the horizon, giving a sense of depth and movement.
On the back of the canvas Constable wrote a weather note: “very fine morning after rain,” a tiny window into his working conditions. The piece is small—about 7½ by 10 inches—yet it shows his keen eye for detail and his early exploration of light on a wet day. This sketch is one of several that he produced during his visits to Brighton, which he made for the health of his wife Maria. It’s a fine example of how he turned everyday scenes into memorable studies of light and landscape.
See it in person
A Windmill near Brighton is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
