East Bergholt Church features frequently in Constable's watercolours, but this view of the ruined tower is relatively unusual. Images of ruins were a recurrent theme in Romantic art and literature. Constable would return to painting ruins after the death of his wife in 1828, when they took on a more personal significance.
Constable painted this watercolour during a visit to East Bergholt in June 1806.
Physical description
A watercolour depicting the south archway of the ruined tower of East Bergholt Church. The tower and archway fill the whole sheet.
Place of Origin
East Bergholt, United Kingdom (painted)
Date
09/06/1806 (painted)
Artist/maker
John Constable, born 1776 - died 1837 (painter)
Materials and Techniques
Pnecil and watercolour on paper
Marks and inscriptions
'E. Bergholt June 9 1806'
Dimensions
Height: 158 mm, Width: 112 mm
Object history note
This watercolour was made during Constable's visit to East Bergholt in June 1806. It is the only watercolour from that visit with a precise date, and is the only one in which the church fills the whole sheet, crowding out the sky.
Historical context note
Ruins were a recurrent theme in Romantic art and literature. They later acquired much personal meaning for Constable after the death of his wife in 1828, when he used a painting of Hadleigh Castle to express his sorrow.
'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, the south archway of the ruined tower, 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. 66.
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
