Hadleigh Castle, The Mouth of the Thames--Morning after a Stormy Night
Date:
1829
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
48 × 64 3/4 inches (121.9 × 164.5 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.42
Gallery Label:
The ruins of Hadleigh Castle stand on the northern shore of the Thames estuary, overlooking the stretch of water known as the Nore, where the river meets the sea. Merchant ships come and go across the Nore, plying their trade with the far corners of the empire, a powerful contrast between modern civilization and the ruins of the feudal culture of the Middle Ages. John Constable made drawings at Hadleigh in 1814, remarking in a letter that he was “always delighted with the melancholy grandeur of the sea shore.” His grief following the death of his wife, Maria, in 1828, moved him to paint the view on a grand scale. He would be desolate and depressed, likening himself to a ruin, for the rest of his life. Looking toward the open sea, which gleams in the sunlight bursting through the clouds, his painting suggests the grief of a bereaved Christian looking toward heavenly consolation. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
