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Bourne Park, Kent (Bourne Park, near Canterbury)
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P73 - Bourne Park, Kent (Bourne Park, near Canterbury)
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Bourne Park, Kent (Bourne Park, near Canterbury)
Credit Line
Private Collection, England / Photograph by Matthew Hollow
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Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Bourne Park, Kent (Bourne Park, near Canterbury)
Date
c.1757-58 (undated)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
102.6 x 154 cm (sight size)
Dimensions
40 3/8 x 60 5/8 in. (sight size)
Details
Links
Collection
Private Collection, England
Accession Number
Wilson Online Reference
P73
Description
The house is seen from the east side. The steps to the entrance no longer exist and were probably removed when the house was restored in 1848.
The house is seen from the east side. The steps to the entrance no longer exist and were probably removed when the house was restored in 1848.
Exhibited
London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (80)
London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (80)
Provenance
Commissioned by Stephen Beckingham; Lt-Col. Matthew G.E. Bell, Bourne Park, Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, Kent; with Knoedler New York, 1929; Sir George Edward Leon, 2nd Bart (1875-1947), Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire; with Arthur Tooth, London by 1951; Kenneth Lindsey; thence by descent; Christie's London, 9 December 2016 (160).
Commissioned by Stephen Beckingham; Lt-Col. Matthew G.E. Bell, Bourne Park, Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, Kent; with Knoedler New York, 1929; Sir George Edward Leon, 2nd Bart (1875-1947), Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire; with Arthur Tooth, London by 1951; Kenneth Lindsey; thence by descent; Christie's London, 9 December 2016 (160).
Signature/inscription
Signed lower right: R.W.
Signed lower right: R.W.
Techniques and materials
Areas of pale pink underpaint are visible behind the foliage of the right hand tree. The roads and sheep in the background are individualised but approximate and indistinct. Parallel rays of diagonal sunlight descend from the cloud in the centre, drawing attention to the house below. The trees themselves are rather two-dimensional. There is a pentiment in the fork of the left tree. David Solkin has noted that the overlapping of foliage in green and rust-coloured screens, the extensive application of very small and precise brushstrokes throughout a smoothly polished foreground and the use of a range of blues and blue-greys to give a complex modelling to the sky, are all techniques specific to Wilson in the late 1750s.
Areas of pale pink underpaint are visible behind the foliage of the right hand tree. The roads and sheep in the background are individualised but approximate and indistinct. Parallel rays of diagonal sunlight descend from the cloud in the centre, drawing attention to the house below. The trees themselves are rather two-dimensional. There is a pentiment in the fork of the left tree. David Solkin has noted that the overlapping of foliage in green and rust-coloured screens, the extensive application of very small and precise brushstrokes throughout a smoothly polished foreground and the use of a range of blues and blue-greys to give a complex modelling to the sky, are all techniques specific to Wilson in the late 1750s.
Collectors' marks
Verso inscriptions
Mount inscriptions
Labels
Subject
Originally called Bourne Place, Bourne Park lies six miles south of Canterbury next to the Little Stour river. The present house was built by Sir Anthony and Dame Elizabeth Aucher in 1701 on the site of an older building, originally owned by the Bourne family. On the death of Sir Hewitt Aucher in 1726 the house passed to his eldest sister, Elizabeth, who married a Dr Corbett. Their eldest daughter married Stephen Beckingham, one of Wilson's most important early patrons, who commissioned this picture. However, after the death in 1756 of Beckingham's father, Stephen Beckingham the Elder, the house was let periodically to various tenants, including Horace Mann, nephew of the diplomat, Sir Horace Mann.
Originally called Bourne Place, Bourne Park lies six miles south of Canterbury next to the Little Stour river. The present house was built by Sir Anthony and Dame Elizabeth Aucher in 1701 on the site of an older building, originally owned by the Bourne family. On the death of Sir Hewitt Aucher in 1726 the house passed to his eldest sister, Elizabeth, who married a Dr Corbett. Their eldest daughter married Stephen Beckingham, one of Wilson's most important early patrons, who commissioned this picture. However, after the death in 1756 of Beckingham's father, Stephen Beckingham the Elder, the house was let periodically to various tenants, including Horace Mann, nephew of the diplomat, Sir Horace Mann.
Related Subjects
Related Drawings
Related Prints
Versions
Related Paintings
Related Works by Other Artists
George Lambert, <span class="italic"> Copped Hall Essex</span>, 1746, Tate, London
George Lambert,
Copped Hall Essex
, 1746, Tate, London
Critical commentary
Despite the date given by Constable, which he failed to find and which is now invisible, David Solkin has proposed this painting as one of the first oils that Wilson painted after his return from Italy, basing his argument on patronage and style. While building on the native tradition of estate portraiture, the work combines the stylistic influence of Gaspar Dughet with Dutch panoramic landscape. This basic formula was to be refined and developed over the following decade in such works as P80 <span class="italic">Wilton House from Temple Copse</span>, Collection of the Earl of Pembroke, Wilton House.
Despite the date given by Constable, which he failed to find and which is now invisible, David Solkin has proposed this painting as one of the first oils that Wilson painted after his return from Italy, basing his argument on patronage and style. While building on the native tradition of estate portraiture, the work combines the stylistic influence of Gaspar Dughet with Dutch panoramic landscape. This basic formula was to be refined and developed over the following decade in such works as P80
Wilton House from Temple Copse
, Collection of the Earl of Pembroke, Wilton House.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
Bibliography
H. Avray Tipping, 'Bourne Park Kent: The Seat of Lieut.-Col. Matthew Bell', <i>Country Life</i>, 6 May 1922, pp. 602-607 & 13 May 1922, pp. 636-644, repr. p. 637, fig. 2; WGC, pp. 44, 74, 95, 119, 173, pl. 31c (as dated R.W. 74); Solkin 1982, pp. 194-95
H. Avray Tipping, 'Bourne Park Kent: The Seat of Lieut.-Col. Matthew Bell',
Country Life
, 6 May 1922, pp. 602-607 & 13 May 1922, pp. 636-644, repr. p. 637, fig. 2; WGC, pp. 44, 74, 95, 119, 173, pl. 31c (as dated R.W. 74); Solkin 1982, pp. 194-95
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
<a href="http://www.calmview.co.uk/paulmelloncentre/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=WGC%2f1%2f1%2f37" title="WGC/1/1/37" class="rewritten">WGC/1/1/37</a>
WGC/1/1/37
Location featured in work
More Information
In July 1765 the eight-year-old Mozart and his family stayed for a month at Bourne Park to break their journey between London and Dover.
In July 1765 the eight-year-old Mozart and his family stayed for a month at Bourne Park to break their journey between London and Dover.
Condition/Conservation
Kate Lowry has noted: Medium weight canvas, simple weave. Relined, probably with glue paste adhesive. A pale pink underpaint or ground visible in sky around the foliage and branches of the right hand tree. Foreground underpainted a warm brown tone. Blue of sky appears to be Prussian blue rather than ultramarine. Dark green foliage of left hand tree contrasts with the lighter yellow brown of right hand tree. There are some dark shadows around the branches of the left hand tree which appear to be pentimenti. Perspective of the house in the background is not very convincing, but the figures of the seated artist and his companion standing next to him are good. The flash of light reflected off the right hand trunk of the main tree and the sunlight breaking though the clouds in the background lend a little drama to the scene. Generally in good condition. Strong mature crackle pattern in centre sky. No drying crackle.
Kate Lowry has noted: Medium weight canvas, simple weave. Relined, probably with glue paste adhesive. A pale pink underpaint or ground visible in sky around the foliage and branches of the right hand tree. Foreground underpainted a warm brown tone. Blue of sky appears to be Prussian blue rather than ultramarine. Dark green foliage of left hand tree contrasts with the lighter yellow brown of right hand tree. There are some dark shadows around the branches of the left hand tree which appear to be pentimenti. Perspective of the house in the background is not very convincing, but the figures of the seated artist and his companion standing next to him are good. The flash of light reflected off the right hand trunk of the main tree and the sunlight breaking though the clouds in the background lend a little drama to the scene. Generally in good condition. Strong mature crackle pattern in centre sky. No drying crackle.
Illustrations of the Work
Updated by Compiler
24/11/2016
24/11/2016
Work of Art
Exhibitions
London, Tate Gallery, Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, and New Haven, Conn., Yale Center for British Art, 3 November 1982 - 19 June 1983
Biographies
Sir George Leon, 2nd Bart, 1875-1947
Stephen Beckingham, 1729-1813
Stephen Beckingham the Elder, 1693-1756
Documents
William George Constable,
Richard Wilson
David Solkin,
Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction
Part of a sketchbook
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