John Constable, R.A. 1776-1837

Agnew's, London

Graham Reynolds, The Early Paintings and Drawings of John Constable, London 1996, no. 618 (06.243)

This double sided watercolour, on wove paper from a text book, is in a good condition. The verso shows a line of brown staining in the sky, and the sheet has a small loss in the lower right-hand corner. The recto shows some small surface losses on the left-hand binding edge, and there are two small accretions at the foot towards the left. Medium: Over the years the blue indigo has faded, and this is demonstrated at the edge of the sheet where it has been over-mounted and protected from light.
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In the autumn of 1806 Constable travelled to the Lake District and conducted a seven week tour of the region. This tour has been described as a ‘pivotal moment in his career’ (see S. Hebron, C. Shields and T. Wilcox, The Solitude of Mountains  Constable and the Lake District, 2006). During this stay he made over a hundred drawings ranging from quickly executed sketches to fully worked up watercolours. Constable’s first biographer and friend C.R. Leslie suggested that the artist found the ‘solitude of [the] mountains oppressed his spirits,’ however he is also recorded as describing the scenery as ‘the greatest there ever was’ (S. Hebron, C. Shields and T. Wilcox, lit.op.cit., 2006, p. II).

The present work is typical of the drawings Constable worked on during this tour. A combination of rapid draftsmanship and a simple composition, captures the grandeur of the Lake District.