The vertical inscription in the top right-hand corner reads 'Wedding day, Hampstead Octr. 2 1820'. But as far as we know not even Constable had time to sketch on his wedding day. In fact, he was married in 1816 on 2 October, so here he was commemorating the anniversary rather than the event itself. At the time Hampstead was still a rural village separate from London. The low viewpoint of the drawing emphasises the height and majesty of the trees and lends an element of drama to the scene. It is possible that this is the drawing that the poet and painter William Blake saw, exclaiming: 'Why, this is not drawing, but inspiration!' Constable is said to have replied, 'I never knew it before; I meant it for drawing'.
Physical description
Sketch of fir trees.
Place of Origin
Great Britain, UK (drawn)
Date
1820 (drawn)
Artist/maker
John Constable, born 1776 - died 1837 (artist)
Materials and Techniques
Pencil on paper
Marks and inscriptions
ATMAN 18
Wedding day. Hampstead Octr. 2. 1820
M.L.C [Maria Louisa Constable]
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm, Width: 160 mm
Historical context note
In 1820 Constable exhibited at the Royal Academy 'Stratford Mill' (now in the collection of Sir Reginald Macdonald-Buchanan) and 'A View of Harwich Lighthouse' (see No. 142 [302-1888] above).
He stayed with Fisher at Salisbury in July and August, settled his wife and children at Hampstead by 1 September, and paid a brief visit to Malvern Hall.
[G Reynolds, 1973, p. 127]
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, pp. 127, 133, 132
The following is an extract from the text of the entry:
The close similarity of size, the position of the inscription, and the possibility that the watermark could be the truncated portion of that on No. 191, all suggest that this may have been a drawing from a sketch-book discussed in the note following No. 200. It had been mounted on card, and this might account for the absence of clearer evidence on the point.
Constable was married on 2 October 1816.
Possibly this is the drawing which is the subject of C. R. Leslie’s anecdote about William Blake (L. ed. S., p. 36): “The amiable but eccentric Blake, looking through one of Constable’s sketch books, said of a beautiful drawing of an avenue of fir trees on Hampstead Heath, ‘Why this is not drawing but inspiration’; and he replied, ‘I never knew it before; I meant it for drawing’.”
Note on Nos. 191, 192, 200, 203, 204, 206, 220, 238, and 239 [297-1888, 257-1888, 622-1888, 251-1888, 351-1888, 271-1888, 353-1888, 609-1888, 799-1888]
Nos. 191 [297-1888], 192 [257-1888], 220 [353-1888], and 239 [799-1888] are untrimmed leaves from a sketch-book, of which the pages measure 6 3/8 x 9 ¾ ins. (161 x 237 mm.) and some bear the Whatman watermark of 1818. The dimensions of Nos. 200 [622-1888], 203 [251-1888], 204 [351-1888], 206 [271-1888], and 238 [609-1888], all of which have been mounted on card and probably trimmed, show that they most certainly come from the same sketch-book. The dated leaves show that Constable used this sketch-book in 1820 (Nos. 191 [297-1888], 203 [251-1888], and 206 [271-1888]) and in 1821 (Nos. 220 [353-1888] and 238 [609-1888]).
Subjects depicted
Trees; Hampstead
Categories
Drawings
Collection code
PDP
