John Constable to Maria Bicknell
The certainty of love in relationship
can carry it through the strongest opposition and heaviest financial hardship. This was certainly
true for the 19th century English painter, John Constable, and the woman he eventually married, Maria
Bicknell. Seven years of courtship elapsed before circumstances allowed them to marry in October 1816.
The letter extracted here was written a few months before their wedding. Through all their troubles--her
failing health and his poverty--they were sustained by their steadfast devotion to each other.
John and Maria met, probably in 1800, in the village of East Bergholt, in
Suffolk. At the time, 12 year old Maria lived in London, where her father was solicitor to the
Admiralty, a post that provided the family with a reasonable income. She came to East Bergholt
to visit the village rector, Dr. Rhudde, who was her maternal grandfather. The Constable family
were already well-established in the village. John's father owned a prosperous local mill and acres of
surrounding farmland. Because he earned his living in "trade", not in a "profession" such as law or the
church, the Constables belonged to a different class from that of the Bicknells. When he met Maria,
John was 24 years old, twice her age. Although he was trained to follow in this father's footsteps,
he had chosen instead to be a painter. he already showed considerable promise, and had hopes of
one day becoming famous. Until such time, however, he was scarcely able to earn a decent living.
Furthermore, he thoroughly disliked painting portraits, the easiest way for a painter of the time
to earn money. John painted landscapes in a new and original way, working directly from nature
to recreate the real English countryside rather than the highly idealized Italianate skies that were
so popular at the time.
Throughout Maria's teenage years the couple became increasingly fond of
each other. As goodnatured, sensible people in love, nothing should have kept John and Maria apart.
But Maria's father worried about entrusting his daughter to an artist with little money and doubtful
prospects, and her grandfather objected to the family being joined to people in trade. John and Maria,
sure that things would eventually work out, settled down to wait, writing affectionate letter of support
to each other. On the few occasions when they met, John dutifully paid his respects to the
obstructive rector and the hesitant, discouraging Mr. Bicknell. In November 1811, Maria wrote to John
that her father's
"...only objection would be on that necessary article Cash, what can we do?"
John realized that if he was ever going to earn enough money for them to marry, he must paint
portraits. But this was not always easy. When a certain Lady Heathcote commissioned him to copy
a portrait of her, John wrote to Maria:
"she will not sit to me though she wants many alterations from the original--but
I can have prints, drawings and miniatures, locks of hair to do without end."
Probably the only really successful portrait John painted was an exquisite one of Maria done in
1816 before they were married. In a letter to her, which is mostly about the portrait, he wrote,
"I never had an idea before of the real pleasure that a portrait could offer."
After seven years of cautious waiting and letter writing, their situation
became intolerable. When John, trying to be helpful, intervened in a Bicknell family matter, Dr.
Rhudde was outraged. The incident was trivial, but John and Maria realized that her family would
use any excuse to keep them apart. The letter extracted here brings together all their worries
about Maria's health, their lack of money, and family opposition, and clearly expresses their
steadfast and mutual love in the face of adversity.
In May 1816, John's father died. In his will he left his son enough money
for him seriously to consider marriage; not a fortune, but just enough to support a frugal lifestyle.
Disregarding the protests of the Bicknells, they planned the future together. Maria asked John what
she should wear for the wedding. Still in mourning, he advised black, adding:
"I should think it advisable not to spend your money in clothes, for we have it not
to waste in plumb cake, or any nonsense whatsoever."
He also mapped out for her an idea of what their life together would be
like, writing,
"You are not coming to wealth, but life comes once and is soon over...riches will not of
themselves bring happiness...We love one another and can we have a greater blessing?"
The couple married on October 2, 1816, in London. Maria's father objected to the last and the Reverend
Dr. Rhudde remained stonily silent. Neither of them came to the ceremony.
Constable's reputation as a painter grew slowly during the 1820's, but he
was never fashionable in his own lifetime. A small legacy to Maria on Dr. Rhudde's death brought
them a little more money, and in time they had seven children. In a letter to a friend written in 1824
John enthused,
"My wife is quite well--never saw her better and more active and cheerful. My children
are lovely and much grown. John I am sorry to say is a genius and all my children are good tempered."
In March 1828, Maria's father died, leaving in his will the enormous sum
of £40,000 to be divided between Maria and her sister. At last John and Maria were financially secure;
John was freed from painting portraits, and they no longer needed to skimp and save. Sadly, they had little
time to enjoy their prosperity. During the fall of 1828 Maria finally succumbed to tuberculosis
and died on November 23. John, who mourned for Maria for the rest of his life, described his wife
as a:
"departed Angel...a devoted, sensible, industrious religious mother who was all affection."
They had lived well together without wealth or station, but with courage and devotion.
Text from
Famous Love Letters
Messages of Intimacy and Passion
Edited by Ronald Tamplin