| The Vale of Dedham | |
| Artist: | John Constable |
| Year: | 1828 |
| Medium: | Oil on canvas |
| Height Metric: | 144.5 |
| Width Metric: | 122 |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| City: | Edinburgh |
| Museum: | Scottish National Gallery |
| Accession: | NG 2016 |
The Vale of Dedham is an 1828 oil painting by the English painter John Constable which depicts Dedham Vale on the Essex-Suffolk border in eastern England. It is in the permanent collection of the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.[1]
Scholars believe the subject of the painting references Constable's inspiration from Claude Lorrain's Hagar and the Angel, and the painting was meant to pay homage to Claude.[2]
The view from Gun Hill along the River Stour to Dedham village and the distant Stour estuary was a favourite subject of Constable which he painted several times, most noticeably the 1802 version in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In this work, the paint is thickly applied with touches of white to emphasise the reflection of sunlight. The work was primarily responsible for his admission to the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts in 1829.