Cornard Wood, near Sudbury, Suffolk
- Artist: Thomas Gainsborough
- Date: 1748
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "Cornard Wood, near Sudbury, Suffolk" painted in 1748 by Thomas Gainsborough. As you can see, the scene depicts a wood on the outskirts of the village of Great Cornard, two miles from Sudbury where Gainsborough was born. The view is taken from Abbas Hall, looking towards the village of Great Henny. The church of St Mary's in the background is actually slightly different to its real-life counterpart.
The wood was common land, and villagers had ancient rights to gather wood, graze animals, dig marl for manure and sand for building materials, take the path to Great Henny, or just stroll there. In Gainsborough's painting we see many of these activities at play. This landscape is considered a key work in Gainsborough's development as an artist. He was still learning his craft when he painted it.
In reality, Great Henny is further away than it appears in the painting, but this doesn't detract from the sense of atmosphere and light that pervades the scene. The trees and common on the left are dappled with sunshine, while the two spring-fed ponds on the right are bathed in shade.
See it in person
Cornard Wood, near Sudbury, Suffolk hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
