1800
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
The Valley of the Stour, with Stratford St Mary in the distance is a 1800 watercolor by John Constable, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
John Constable painted this watercolour scene in the year 1800. It shows a quiet valley with a river, a road crossing, and a church in the distance. He often chose this spot—it was close to his father’s business. The Stour valley mattered to Constable. He made four detailed views of it as a gift. This one went to his friend Lucy Hurlock on her wedding day. See more of Constable’s early work at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
A landscape-format watercolour depicts a broad view of the English countryside along the River Stour, featuring a tollgate and bridge where the road crosses the river, with Stratford St Mary’s church visible in the distance. Painted in light, fresh tones typical of Constable’s early work, the scene reflects the artist’s personal connection to the valley through his father’s transport business. Executed as one of four detailed Stour valley views, it was created as a wedding gift for Lucy Hurlock in 1800. The composition adopts a high, panoramic perspective, characteristic of Constable’s…
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition.
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