A cello owned by John Constable, among Britain’s most renowned landscape painters, is to be performed publicly for the first time in 100 years after restoration work. The instrument, ordered by Constable in 1802 and made by his neighbour and mentor John Dunthorne Sr, has been quiet for many years after suffering damage during a badly handled restoration in 1926. Now, thanks to fundraising efforts by the Ipswich Museum Friends, the historic cello has been carefully restored to playability. The instrument will be performed at Christchurch Museum in Ipswich, uncovering a little-known side of Constable’s life – that in addition to his renowned landscape works including The Hay Wain, the Suffolk-born artist was also an accomplished and devoted musician.
A painter’s concealed musical passion
Whilst Constable is acclaimed for his groundbreaking method to landscape art, his musical interests reveal a more complex personality than the popular image suggests. The artist was not merely dabbling in music as a casual hobby; rather, he was a committed musician who actively participated in the cultural life of his local Suffolk community. The ordering of a bespoke cello in 1802 – the same year he was accepted to the Royal Academy – demonstrates how seriously he took his musical pursuits. Contemporary accounts suggest he may have performed with a local band in East Bergholt, combining his artistic and musical abilities within his close-knit community.
The connection between Constable and his musical instrument craftsman John Dunthorne Sr illuminates the intertwined character of artistic endeavour in early 19th-century Suffolk. The pair maintained a artistic collaboration that went beyond the boundaries between visual art and musical craftsmanship. Dunthorne, working as a plumber, glazier and carpenter whilst also engaging in instrument-making and painting, embodied the versatile artisan of the period. Their written exchanges reveals a deep mutual regard, with Constable confiding in Dunthorne about his creative ambitions. This relationship suggests that music and painting were not distinct endeavours for Constable but complementary expressions of his artistic vision.
- Constable drew musicians in his notebooks, possibly including himself with his cello.
- He carved and painted wooden figures portraying East Bergholt church choir singers.
- The cello was made in 1802, Constable’s breakthrough year for artistic recognition.
- Dunthorne was a self-taught artisan of modest background, now largely forgotten historically.
The craftsman who shaped Constable’s artistic vision
John Dunthorne Sr stands as one of the most influential yet underappreciated figures in Constable’s artistic development. As the artist’s neighbour, mentor and friend, Dunthorne occupied a unique position in the young painter’s life during his formative years in East Bergholt. Beyond his role as a skilled instrument maker, Dunthorne was himself a painter of considerable ability, demonstrating the creative versatility that characterised working craftsmen of the period. His decision to commission a cello for Constable in 1802 was not merely a commercial transaction but a gesture of genuine friendship and artistic encouragement, reflecting the deep bond between these two creative minds.
Dunthorne’s multifaceted work spanning plumbing, glazing, carpentry, painting and instrument-making demonstrates the resourceful artisans who supported country communities in early nineteenth-century England. Unlike the formally trained painters from the Royal Academy in London, Dunthorne was self-taught and of working-class background, yet his craftsmanship was accomplished enough to merit Constable’s trust and patronage. The fact that the cello survives today with all of its original fixtures speaks to the quality of Dunthorne’s workmanship. Yet despite his pivotal influence on one of Britain’s greatest painters, Dunthorne’s own story is largely obscured by history, eclipsed by his more famous protégé’s enduring legacy.
A friendship formed in Suffolk fields
The connection between Constable and Dunthorne developed through collaborative creative work in the scenery they both valued. The two men would explore into the lanes and fields surrounding East Bergholt, with easels at the ready, capturing in sketches and paintings the countryside landscape that would later define Constable’s revolutionary approach to landscape painting. Their written exchanges reveals the emotional depth of this relationship, with Constable sharing his artistic goals and doubts to his close companion. When Constable corresponded with Dunthorne in 1799 about his entry into the Royal Academy Schools, he was sharing a pivotal moment with the man who had nurtured his initial creative ambitions.
The written exchanges shared by painter and maker document a bond that transcended the social hierarchies of their period. Constable’s views on becoming a “natural painter” were entrusted to Dunthorne, suggesting the elder craftsman acted as both sounding board and supporter during the painter’s formative years. This correspondence shows that Constable held in high regard Dunthorne’s judgment and perspective, seeking validation from someone whose creative instincts had been developed via practical experience rather than institutional education. The cello itself served as a concrete representation of their lasting bond, a stringed instrument made by one maker’s hands for another’s artistic endeavour.
Restoration brings silent strings back to life
For close to a hundred years, Constable’s cello languished in silence, its voice compromised by a badly carried out restoration performed in 1926. When the instrument arrived at the Ipswich Collection in 1942, it had already suffered irreversible damage that left it unable to play. The passing years saw the cello relegated to museum storage, its cultural value understood but its acoustic capabilities seemingly lost forever. However, the dedicated efforts of the Friends of Ipswich Museum have altered this situation, garnering assistance to fund a comprehensive restoration that would ultimately permit the instrument to produce music once more.
The restoration undertaking proved both technically challenging and emotionally significant for participants. Specialists had to carefully undo the damage inflicted by the 1926 intervention whilst preserving the instrument’s authentic character and construction. Emma Roodhouse, curator of Colchester and Ipswich Museums, stressed the exceptional state of the cello’s surviving components, noting that “it survives with all its fittings” – a reflection of Dunthorne’s precise construction. After securing over £4,000, the Friends of Ipswich Museum accomplished the restoration of the cello to a playable state, allowing it to serve its designed function once more.
- The cello was created by Constable’s teacher John Dunthorne Sr in 1802
- A substandard restoration in 1926 rendered the instrument unusable for decades
- Restoration costs surpassed £4,000, fully financed by the Ipswich Museum Friends
A hundred years of quiet shattered at long last
When Melanie Woodcock moved her bow across the strings of John Constable’s cello at the Christchurch Museum in Ipswich, she marked an important occasion – the first public performance of the instrument in one hundred years. The restoration, finished after decades of careful conservation work, had ultimately returned the cello to its intended purpose. Woodcock’s performance constituted far more than a straightforward musical recital; it was a reconnection to the past, a link spanning the centuries between Constable’s time and our own, enabling audiences to experience the very instrument that once performed alongside the great landscape painter in his creative endeavours.
The significance of hearing the cello reverberate through the museum walls is impossible to overstate. For generations, the instrument had existed as a silent artefact, its voice locked away behind glass cases and museum catalogues. The restoration project had demanded not merely technical expertise but also a deep understanding of Dunthorne’s original craftsmanship and the musical preferences of the early nineteenth century. Now, with its voice recovered, the cello communicates with visitors in a language that goes beyond the visual – a moving testament that Constable’s artistic vision transcended paint and canvas into the realm of sound and melody.
What the refurbished piece shows
The cello’s restoration has unveiled details about both Dunthorne’s exceptional skill as an instrument maker and Constable’s multifaceted talents. Sketches in Constable’s own drawing books, seemingly showing himself as a cellist, suggest the instrument carried importance beyond mere hobby. Small timber sculptures, believed carved and painted by Constable in his youth, demonstrate a creative mind that shifted easily across artistic disciplines. The restored cello thus serves as a gateway to the lesser-known aspects of Constable’s character – his appreciation of sound and his drive to produce aesthetic work through different types of artistic expression.