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拍品专文
Constable rarely undertook sketching tours in the way other artists did, in search of new inspiration, preferring almost exclusively to paint landscapes with which he had a deep personal bond. As a result the majority of his work depicts his native East Anglia, especially the landscape around the village of his birth, East Bergholt, in Suffolk; Hampstead, where he and his family began to spend time from 1819; Salisbury and its surroundings, where he was a frequent visitor, staying with his friend John Fisher; and Brighton, where he and his family spent prolonged periods between 1824 and 1828.
Constable executed numerous studies, sketches and finished paintings of the Church of St Mary’s, East Bergholt. His father served as churchwarden for thirteen years and his parents were later buried in the churchyard along with other Constable relations. It has been suggested that Constable also liked to sketch around the church in the hope of seeing his future wife, Maria Bicknell, whose grandfather was Rector of East Bergholt.
West Lodge, the home of Mrs Sarah Roberts, was down the road from Constable’s family home of East Bergholt House. Philip and Sarah Roberts probably moved to West Lodge in 1756; Philip died in 1778, but his wife continued to live there until her death over 30 years later, in December 1811. She appears to have been held in high regard by the whole community and was friends with the Constable family and with the young artist in particular. She allowed him access to her grounds so that he could explore the scenery from her garden. Facing west with views across the meadows to the Stour Valley, it furthermore afforded him the opportunity to study sunsets, something which he was unable to do from his parents' house. Constable was possibly painting in the garden of West Lodge as early as 1799 and certainly from 1802, although the most concentrated period of activity appears to be 1811-12, just before and after Mrs Roberts' death.
The present watercolour was most likely executed in about 1805-6. The soft colours and restricted palette, which have survived in remarkable condition, were characteristic of Constable’s work at this time, as can be seen in other watercolours of the period, such as in Derwentwater (Private Collection, reproduced in I. Fleming Williams, Constable and his Drawings, London, 1990, p. 74, pl. 5), which Constable made during his 1806 tour of the Lake District (fig. 1).
At East Bergholt, as at Salisbury, Constable explored the buildings in detail, through a series of paintings and drawings of small aspects of the architecture and their surroundings. The device of depicting even just a tiny edge of a building to locate a scene, used to such effect in the present work, was something that was used by the artist throughout his career. The interplay of trees and foliage and their twisting nature in contrast to the rigid geometry of the architecture at the extreme edge of the sheet, clearly appealed to the artist. Furthermore, the deliberate inclusion of part of West Lodge must in part have been in recognition of the artist’s friendship with Mrs Roberts.
Constable executed numerous studies, sketches and finished paintings of the Church of St Mary’s, East Bergholt. His father served as churchwarden for thirteen years and his parents were later buried in the churchyard along with other Constable relations. It has been suggested that Constable also liked to sketch around the church in the hope of seeing his future wife, Maria Bicknell, whose grandfather was Rector of East Bergholt.
West Lodge, the home of Mrs Sarah Roberts, was down the road from Constable’s family home of East Bergholt House. Philip and Sarah Roberts probably moved to West Lodge in 1756; Philip died in 1778, but his wife continued to live there until her death over 30 years later, in December 1811. She appears to have been held in high regard by the whole community and was friends with the Constable family and with the young artist in particular. She allowed him access to her grounds so that he could explore the scenery from her garden. Facing west with views across the meadows to the Stour Valley, it furthermore afforded him the opportunity to study sunsets, something which he was unable to do from his parents' house. Constable was possibly painting in the garden of West Lodge as early as 1799 and certainly from 1802, although the most concentrated period of activity appears to be 1811-12, just before and after Mrs Roberts' death.
The present watercolour was most likely executed in about 1805-6. The soft colours and restricted palette, which have survived in remarkable condition, were characteristic of Constable’s work at this time, as can be seen in other watercolours of the period, such as in Derwentwater (Private Collection, reproduced in I. Fleming Williams, Constable and his Drawings, London, 1990, p. 74, pl. 5), which Constable made during his 1806 tour of the Lake District (fig. 1).
At East Bergholt, as at Salisbury, Constable explored the buildings in detail, through a series of paintings and drawings of small aspects of the architecture and their surroundings. The device of depicting even just a tiny edge of a building to locate a scene, used to such effect in the present work, was something that was used by the artist throughout his career. The interplay of trees and foliage and their twisting nature in contrast to the rigid geometry of the architecture at the extreme edge of the sheet, clearly appealed to the artist. Furthermore, the deliberate inclusion of part of West Lodge must in part have been in recognition of the artist’s friendship with Mrs Roberts.