Watercolour of East Bergholt Church, the north archway of the ruined tower, by John Constable

A watercolour depicting the archway of the ruined tower of East Bergholt Church.

Given by Isabel Constable, daughter of the artist

This drawing has proven difficult to date because Constable preserved the manner which he used for watercolours of East Bergholt Church for a number of years. C. J. Holmes (1902) has dated it to June 1806, but Reynolds disagrees, arguing that it could have been painted between 1805 and 1811.

Ruins were a recurrent theme in Romantic art and literature; Constable would return to the subject in later years, most notably in Hadleigh Castle, painted after the death of his wife in 1829.

'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

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.

This watercolour is difficult to date because Constable preserved the same manner in his watercolours of East Bergholt Church for a number of years. It was probably painted between 1805 and 1811.

343-1888