Dedham Vale

デダムの谷
戴德姆谷
戴达姆谷
데덤의 계곡

This is a view of Constable’s hometown on the border of the counties of Suffolk and Essex in the east of England. Although the house where the artist was born is not visible in this picture, it stood in the village of East Bergholt, situated on the left hill. Constable went to school in Dedham. The school was next to the church whose tower is visible at the center of the picture. In other words, this painting looks down from a high point at the route the artist took to go to school as a boy.

This painting may appear to be an ordinary landscape, but at the beginning of the nineteenth century when this was painted, a landscape depicted for its own sake, not as the background of a myth or a biblical narrative, was extremely innovative. The clouds shining in the sun seem to be foretelling Impressionism.

Meanwhile, this painting is influenced considerably by Claude Lorrain’s Landscape with Hagar and the Angel. While it is a placid English landscape, there is a great conflict going on between classical European tradition and nineteenth century innovation.