A Stand of Elm Trees (recto); A Study of East Bergholt with the Church (verso)
c. 1802
Medium
Black chalk (recto) and graphite (verso) on pale gray laid paper
Dimensions
52 × 44.6 cm (20 1/2 × 17 9/16 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
207789
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In a time when landscape painting enjoyed unprecedented popularity in England, John Constable secured a place as a leading artist in the genre. This exploratory sketch by Constable is one of his earliest and largest studies of trees and was probably drawn in Dedham Vale, the area of rolling hills and woods surrounding his home on the border of Essex and Suffolk. Hallmarks of Constable’s technique can be observed here, especially the indistinct description of foliage contrasted with sharply delin...
About the Artist
John Constable · 1776–1837
John Constable (1776-1837) was an English landscape painter whose naturalistic depictions of the Suffolk countryside revolutionized landscape painting and established him, alongside J.M.W. Turner, as one of England's greatest artists. His work pioneered the direct observation of nature that would later influence the French Barbizon school and, ultimately, Impressionism. Born in East Bergholt, Suf...