John Constable's The Stour Valley and Dedham Village was inspired by the scene at Flatford, Suffolk (below) For almost two centuries it has baffled art historians: the exact spot where an inspired John Constable painted this priceless landscape.
While the object of his inspiration was clear, experts were unable to pinpoint where the artist had set up his easel to capture the Suffolk scene.
But now the 195-year-old mystery has been solved thanks to some detective work by a dedicated Constable fan.
Constable fan Martin Atkinson discovered the location after extensive researchMartin Atkinson pored over Suffolk records dating back to 1814 to try to recreate the lay of the land as the English Romantic artist would have seen it.
He has now located where Constable painted The Stour Valley and Dedham Village, and the spot will be included in the National Trust's guided walks through Constable Country.
Mr Atkinson, the Trust's property manager for East Suffolk, said: 'It's great to see where an old master once stood - and be inspired by the same views as them.
'When I discovered that I had worked out the location where Constable painted this particular masterpiece, I couldn't believe it. All the pieces of the jigsaw finally fitted together.'
Many of Constable's other viewpoints had already been located, and the spots where he painted landscapes including The Hay Wain and Boat-Building are well-known to enthusiasts.
But changes in the landscape around the village of Dedham, on the border of Suffolk and Essex, have made this painting more difficult to trace.
Constable was known to have painted in and around the local area, but the exact location from which he painted this picture had eluded experts for yearsIt has been designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty, and there are strict regulations surrounding building and development.
But changes to hedge boundaries and the growth of trees which were mere saplings when Constable was painting made this particular panorama more of a challenge.
Mr Atkinson used features from the painting and historic maps of the area from the Suffolk Records Office to identify the exact location.
By studying the geography of the churches at Dedham and nearby Langham, the Fen Bridge and the bend in the River Stour, he armed himself with some reference points which had not changed through the centuries.
He then plotted them on a modern map along with changes to field boundaries set out in the enclosure maps of the time.
The spot in Flatford will now be included on the National Trust's guided walks of Constable countryMr Atkinson said: 'By plotting out where the field boundaries would once have been, we were able to pinpoint the exact location from which Constable painted this particular view.
'Most of Constable's landscapes painted in the Dedham Vale are now known, but questions do remain over some.
'This one in particular had confused us, but once we were able to identify the changes in the landscape, many of which had been made in Constable's lifetime, we were able to solve the 195-year mystery.'
Constable is believed to have painted The Stour Valley and Dedham Village in 1814 or 1815.
He was born in nearby East Bergholt and the surrounding countryside became the inspiration for many of his most famous works.
He said the landscapes had 'made me a painter, and I am grateful', adding: 'The sound of water escaping from mill dams etc, willows, old rotten planks, slimy posts, and brickwork, I love such things.'
Art historians say the direction of light in the painting shows he painted it in the morning, and he is strongly believed to have worked on it in the open air before walking to neighbouring Flatford, where he painted the better-known Boat-Building at Flatford Mill in the afternoons.
Shortly after completing this landscape, the artist wrote: 'This charming season ... occupies me entirely in the fields and I believe I have made some landscapes that are better than is usual with me.'
The painting is now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in the U.S.
But for those who want to follow in Constable's footsteps, they now admire the view from the same spot where he once found inspiration.
source: dailymail
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