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Parham Mill, Gillingham This composition focuses on the activities of a watermill. The watermill is centrally located in the picture frame. Movement is displayed through the use of reflected light on water as it splashes over the paddlewheel. The stream is dammed at the juncture above the paddlewheel. The even agricultural landscape with grazing cows is bathed in sunlight. The mill structure, shown in diagonal perspective, appears to be made from rough hewn stone. Sunlight shows on the facade, and illuminates a man with a hat in the doorway. The man has several sacks in front of him. The rough textures of the slated roof stand out from the blended textures of the cloudy sky. Background Nature and man are evenly divided in this horizontal composition. Divided by the upright beam of the dam, natural elements - trees, shrubbery, grazing land and cows - dominate the peaceful surroundings. The stream diagonally snakes through the background, making its way to the mill. The mill, dominating the right hand side of the composition, is a product of man's ingenuity. Harnessing the power of the stream to operate the paddlewheel that grinds the grain, Constable has illustrated man's control of a natural element. The equality of reflected light on the left and right hand side of the composition indicates Constable's respect for man working in harmony with nature. Man, pictured in the doorway of the mill, has reaped the fruits of this early industrial activity. Constable, whose father owned several mills in Dedham Vale, was thoroughly familiar with the workings of this method of grain production. Intrinsic to 'picturesque' landscapes is a focus on structural devices within a composition. in this instance, the composition is divided into two halves, the visual center being the vertical shaft of the dam. Framing devices - the shrubbery in the lower left hand corner diagonally opposite the pitch of the slated roof - focus the viewer's eye onto the action of the turning paddlewheel. |