East Bergholt Church: north archway of the ruined tower thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MB2A, Shelf DR78, Box LOANS

East Bergholt Church: north archway of the ruined tower

Watercolour
ca. 1805-ca. 1811 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleEast Bergholt Church: north archway of the ruined tower (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil and watercolour on paper
Brief description
Watercolour of East Bergholt Church, the north archway of the ruined tower, by John Constable
Physical description
A watercolour depicting the archway of the ruined tower of East Bergholt Church.
Dimensions
  • Height: 250mm
  • Width: 199mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Drawing of East Bergholt Church by J. Constable' (Inscribed on the back in pencil)
  • 'East Bergholt Church' (Inscribed on the back in pencil)
Credit line
Given by Isabel Constable, daughter of the artist
Object history
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.
Historical context
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
Subject depicted
Place depicted
Summary
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.
Bibliographic references
  • G. Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum: Catalogue of the Constable Collection, 1973, p. 57, no. 68.
  • C. J. Holmes, Constable and his Influence on Landscape Painting, 1902, p. 240.
  • Evans, M., with N. Costaras and C. Richardson, John Constable. Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A, 2011, p. 41, cat. no. 8.
Other number
68 - Reynolds catalogue no.
Collection
Accession number
343-1888

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdOctober 27, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest