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A LANDSCAPE NEAR DEDHAM AT SUNSET

A LANDSCAPE NEAR DEDHAM AT SUNSET

measurements note
13 by 21 cm., 5¼ by 8¼ in.

oil on canvas laid down on panel

PROVENANCE

Possibly Isabel Constable;
Possibly by descent to Ella N. Constable, her sale, Christie's, 28th May 1891;
Ernest Alfred Colquhoun;
Thence by family descent

NOTE

"I shall shortly return to Bergholt where I shall make some laborious studies from nature" (R.B. Beckett (ed), John Constable's Correspondence, Vol.II, 1964, pp.31-32).

So Constable announced to John Dunthorne Senior in the spring of 1802. On a stylistic basis this fluid plein-air sketch must have been painted around the same time, just as Constable was defining his position as a landscape artist. Constable exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy in 1802, and in the same letter to Dunthorne he wrote that, although there were fine pictures in the RA exhibition "that bring nature to mind....there is room enough for a natural painture [sic]" (ibid). Constable was convinced that, only by long contemplation and study of his surroundings, could an accurate representation of nature be achieved. This delicate sketch, with its quick, deft brush strokes, illustrates Constable's study of his native Suffolk countryside, and emphasises the 'true originality' which he was seeking. It is important to acknowledge, however, that despite his enthusiasm for work en plein air, his work was still very much influenced by the paintings of the old masters.

Through an introduction of his mother Constable had formed a valuable association with Sir George Beaumont (see lot 49), and it was through this friendship that Constable gained valuable access to an extensive picture collection, which included the works of Claude Lorraine. Constable was clearly drawn to the work of Claude, and a small canvas of Dedham Vale which Constable painted in 1802 (Victoria and Albert Museum) directly echoes the composition of Claude's Hagar and the Angel which was owned by Beaumont. The focus of the present picture with the setting sun, and its softly diffused light, further recalls Claude's painting of A Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula which hangs in the National Gallery. Nevertheless, Constable had always showed an independent inclination towards effects of light and shade, and his first recorded work in oil was Moonlit landscape with Hadleigh Church (Private Collection).

This delicate picture belonged to Ernest Alfred Colquhoun, who owned a remarkable number of works by Constable, including a number of pictures which had passed directly from the artist to Isabel Constable, his daughter.

We are grateful to Graham Reynolds for his assistance in cataloguing this painting and dating it to 1802.