Beschreibung:

Attributed to John Constable R.A. (East Bergholt 1776-1837 Hampstead) A view of Rochester Castle Oil on millboard laid on panel 25.5 x 35.5 cm (10 x 14 in) Provenance: with Cox's British Gallery of Art, 57/58 Pall Mall, London (prior to 1877); Thomas Gold Appleton Boston MA, by whom loaned to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, who were bequeathed the paintingon Appleton’s death in 1884 (Accession number 84.279); Deaccessioned in 1990. Literature: C.H. Collins Baker ‘British Painting’, 1933, chapter XIII ‘Later landscape: The Cozens to Constable’ p.160. In the late Spring of 1803 Constable spent nearly a month on board The Coutts, an East Indiaman travelling from Chatham to Deal down the Thames and Medway, and captained by an old friend of his father's, Robert Torin (1760-1824). Once the ship was at Gravesend, Constable took the opportunity to take a walk on shore and visit Rochester and Chatham. 23rd of May 1803, Constable wrote to his friend Dunthorne; “While the ship was at Gravesend, I took a walk on shore to Rochester and Chatham. Their situation is beautifull (sic) and romantic, being at the bottom of finely formed and high hills, with the river continually showing its turnings to great advantage. Rochester Castle is one of the most romantic I ever saw.” (RB Beckett, John Constable’s correspondence Vol II, Suffolk Records Society, 1964). other representation of Rochester Castle by John Constable has survived. A note on the provenance We are grateful to Martha Clawson of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for confirming that the present painting was in the BMFA collection by 1877 (on loan from Thomas Gold Appleton who bequeathed the painting to the museum on his death in 1884). The fact that the provenance can be traced back to the 1870’s may be significant, as it was in that decade that the Constable family sold most of his oil sketches at auction. A technical report by Sarah Cove of the Constable Research Project is available upon request.