Constable spent June of 1806 in East Bergholt, and is known to have made at least two watercolours of the church. This watercolour, however, is the only one to include some of the surrounding landscape; the others concentrate solely on the church itself.
Physical description
A watercolour showing East Bergholt Church fron the east, under a sunny sky with a few small clouds. A group of trees stands in the distance at left.
Place of Origin
East Bergholt, United Kingdom (painted)
Date
06/1806 (painted)
Artist/maker
John Constable, born 1776 - died 1837 (painter)
Materials and Techniques
Pnecil and watercolour on paper
Marks and inscriptions
'June 1806'
'13'
Dimensions
Height: 130 mm, Width: 179 mm
Object history note
This watercolour, along with 224-1888, was made during Constable's visit to East Bergholt in June 1806. It does not appear to have come from a sketchbook.
Historical context note
'Constable's only exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1806 was No. 65 [169-1888]. In June he was at East Bergholt, as is attested by Nos. 66 and 67 [224-1888 and 346-1888]. In the autumn he paid a visit of some two months to the Lake District and made many drawings, among them Nos. 72-94 [794-1888, 348-1888, 192-1888, 812-1888, 170-1888, 185-1888, 188-1888, 184-1888, 187-1888, 178-1888, 179-1888, 177-1888, 193-1888, 183-1888, 1256-1888, 596-1888, 181-1888, 182-1888, 1257-1888, 811-1888, 349-1888].
G Reynolds, 1973, p. 56
Descriptive line
Watercolour of East Bergholt Church, view from the east, by John Constable
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
G. Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum: Catalogue of the Constable Collection, 1973, p. 57, no. 67.
The following is a note on the entry:
Note on Nos. 66-71
These drawings are carried out in a manner which Constable preserved for a number of years when making watercolours of East Bergholt Church, the consistency of which makes the precise dating of uninscribed examples, such as Nos. 68-70, impracticable. An early instance is found in the watercolour 'East Bergholt Church' in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, which is signed and dated 1805, and is virtually identical with No. 70 [200-1888] apart from being two inches more in height. A later example is the drawing of 1811 recorded in the note on No. 70.
Reynolds, pp. 57-58
Materials
Pencil; Watercolour
Techniques
Watercolour drawing
Subjects depicted
Churches; East Bergholt
Categories
Drawings
Collection code
PDP
