Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds
1823 · Oil on canvas · Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- John Constable (1776–1837)
- Year
- 1823
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 87.6 × 111.8 cm
- Collection
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Movement
- Romanticism
The cathedral's spire, seen from the south-east across the bishop's garden, is framed by an arch of trees, with cattle in the foreground and, at the lower left, the small figures of Bishop John Fisher and his wife at a gate, with one of their daughters a little further down the path. Fisher, one of Constable's closest friends, commissioned the painting in 1820, and Constable worked it up from sketches made on visits in 1811 and 1820, including an open-air oil study now in Ottawa. He showed it at the Royal Academy in 1823 and called it the most difficult landscape subject he had ever had on his easel. The bishop disliked the dark cloud over the spire and asked for a serener sky; a full-size version with clearer weather followed in 1825 and is now in the Frick Collection. This prime version came to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1857 with the Sheepshanks Gift.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A spire framed by an arch of trees with cattle and a dark cloud, for a study, living room or dining room at 16×24 or 24×36 in black. Sage, cream or warm grey; it pairs with Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows for two views.
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Romanticism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1823)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- living room, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
