Provenance
John Postle Heseltine (1843–1929), London; sold, Sotheby’s, London, Mar. 25, 1920, either lot 123A or part of lots 124 or 126. W. S. Corder. Anthony Reed, 1986 [Reynolds 1996]. Sold, Sotheby’s, London, Mar. 12, 1987, lot 77 to Dorothy Braude Edinburg, Brooklin, MA.; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2013.
Accession Number
151445
Medium
Graphite on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
8.9 × 11.7 cm (3 9/16 × 4 5/8 in.)
Classification
graphite
Credit Line
Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
John Constable's Binfield Rectory and Church, Berkshire (1816) is a graphite drawing on ivory wove paper, depicting the village of Binfield in Berkshire. Constable visited Binfield in 1816, the year of his marriage to Maria Bicknell. The drawing shows the rectory and church, the buildings rendered with precise, careful lines that capture their architectural character and their relationship to the surrounding landscape. The graphite technique is controlled and detailed, reflecting Constable's training and his commitment to accurate observation. The ivory wove paper provides a smooth surface. This drawing has a particular personal significance: 1816 was the year Constable finally married his beloved Maria after a long courtship opposed by her family. The drawing of Binfield, with its church and rectory, may have been made during a visit related to the marriage. It is both a document of a place and a record of a pivotal year in Constable's personal life.
Cultural Impact
Constable's architectural drawings demonstrate the range of his draftsmanship, showing his ability to capture buildings with the same precision he brought to natural forms.
Why It Matters
This graphite drawing of Binfield church and rectory captures the English village with precision and affection, the careful lines recording a place that held personal significance in the year of Constable's marriage.
