DUNTHORNE, John (1798-1832)

1798 - 1832

John Dunthorne was born at East Bergholt, Suffolk on 19 April 1798 and baptised 3 June 1798, third child of [[John Dunthorne (1770-1844),203]] and his wife Hannah née Bird. An artist and picture restorer, whose life, like his father’s, was also intimately tied to John Constable. Dunthorne showed an early aptitude for art and in his teens was already assisting Constable during the artist's visits to East Bergholt, joining him in London in 1824 as his assistant. It is difficult to determine the exact nature and extent of Dunthorne's subsequent work on Constable's canvases, but his presence in his studio has complicated matters for Constable scholars. Responsible for the preliminary stages of Constable's studio paintings and for occasional replicas, Dunthorne is also known to have painted his own versions of Constable compositions, and it is possible that paintings formerly attributed to Constable should be re-attributed to Dunthorne. That he absorbed much of Constable's style and outlook is evident from a review of one of his paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy, a review that mirrors very closely those of Constable himself: ‘Landscape after a Shower’ ‘To have painted this picture, the artist must have been a close observer of natural effects’. John Dunthorne exhibited at the Royal Academy also showing at the British Institution. Dunthorne was also a picture-cleaner and restorer and was highly praised for his restoration of a Reynolds portrait, a commission gained through the recommendation of Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1833). Having suffered severe bouts of dropsy, in July 1832, John Dunthorne returned to East Bergholt where he died from heart disease on 2 November 1832 and buried seven days later.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 4 Grafton Street, Fitzroy Square, London
1827 384 Glade in a Wood
from 35 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square
1828 175 Landscape after a Shower
from 31 Grafton Street, Fitzroy Square
1829 591 Landscape
1830 409 A Cottage
1831 343 Landscape: Harvest
1832 416 Landscape

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Works by This Artist