Constable’s Hay Wagon from 1821 is one of the English artist’s most famous landscapes. And it is kept here in London at the National Gallery, the city’s collection of modern art. 

This work immediately suggests a summer day in the English countryside. In fact, this is where John Constable grew up and played as a child. 

The subject of the work

The protagonists are two figures on a chariot in the center of the work. They are crossing a shallow river. The theme of the work seems clear and recognizable enough. But when the work was first exhibited in London in 1821, it represented a radical departure from traditional painting. And unfortunately due to the technique and the choice of materials it was not taken seriously. 

Three years later, however, critics in Paris took a completely different and entirely favorable attitude: the painting won a gold medal. And his simple subject, with references to everyday life, and quick, inaccurate brushstrokes was much admired by French artists.

Constable and the relationship with nature

For Constable, the natural world, particularly the lush and fertile landscape of Suffolk, was a source of inspiration and had a profound influence on him. He tried to communicate his personal relationship with nature through his paintings, which were tales because they represented the everyday English landscape on a large scale. 

Constable’s hay cart. The technique

In terms of technique, Constable’s expressive brushwork, with its quick touches and blotches, has been misunderstood and criticized for being excessively free. 

In The Hay Cart by Constable wanted to convey the movement, vitality and reflected light of this stretch of the River Stour, where he had spent his childhood. The sky, in particular, has a very realistic sense of depth thanks to the clouds. The change of light due to the clouds is reflected on the fields. 

Constable used to work very slowly and the preparations for his great works like The Hay Wagon were very painstaking. He filled entire books with sketches made outdoors in the Stour Valley and then brought them back to his London studio. 

For this work, in addition to the outdoor sketches, he then created a life-size oil sketch on canvas to help with the composition. For the times this was a rather unusual way of working but it gave us a lot of information on the preparation of the work and its method. The oil sketch of The Hay Wagon is kept today in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Constable’s hay cart. Details of the work

The cottage

The exact location of where the sketch of this painting was made can be identified thanks to the cottage on the left. Constable’s father had in fact rented it to a farmer: Willy Lott. The smoke rising from the chimney is a fascinating detail that suggests the presence of the farmer inside the house. The cottage is still standing, in an area of ​​Suffolk known as ‘Constable’s Country’.

The Hay Cart

The protagonist of Constable’s work is a traditional wooden hay cart. The two farmers in the wagon suggest a way of living in harmony with the rhythms of nature. 

The chariot is crossing the river, probably to allow the horses to drink and perhaps to ensure that the metal bands around the wooden wheels fit properly. In fact, wood shrinks when the weather is hot and dry, so the metal edges may have loosened, but they could return to their shape thanks to immersion in water.

The farmers

Small patches of white, brown and red paint in the background of the work in the field represent the workers harvesting hay by hand with scythes. Another cart loaded with freshly cut hay can also be seen. 

The sky

Constable’s depiction of light and shadow on the field suggests the changing sky, typical in England. In fact, good weather in the summer for the wheat harvest can never be guaranteed in this region of England, which is located in the south east. Here the weather varies a lot and blue skies and clouds mix as in Constable’s work. 

Flecks of Red 

Horses’ red collars prevent their harnesses from rubbing their shoulders and backs. Red, however, is an unusual color for work horses. Constable used splashes of red here and elsewhere in the painting to complement and intensify the green of the fields and foliage. The fisherman near the boat in the foreground has a red neckerchief. One of the reapers wears a red sash. And there is a small group of poppies in the lower left corner of the painting.

The washerwoman and the dog

On the left of the work a woman is kneeling on the dock of the cottage. It is not clear if she is washing clothes in the river or simply collecting water: behind her is a clay jug. Its inclusion, like that of the other figures in this landscape, illustrates an aspect of domestic life in this working rural community.

Standing at the edge of the water, the dog is an important element in the painting and directs our gaze towards him. One of the men in the cart makes a gesture towards the animal, as if he wants to lure or knows it. Furthermore, the same dog reappears in other works by Constable.

Constable’s hay cart. The preparatory sketches

Constable made numerous preparatory studies of his works in pencil, pen, chalk, watercolor or oil. These sketches were made directly in the open air and in any weather: sun or rain. The sketches were then stored together in notebooks and brought back to his London studio for the creation of his large-scale paintings. These studies were very detailed, so much so that they represented the different seasons, the time of day or even sometimes the direction of the wind. 

Constable is also said to have spent a great deal of time lying in London looking at the clouds in Hampstead Heath park, northwest of the city. An oasis of greenery. 

John Constable’s Large-Scale Works Constable

‘s Hay Wagon is part of a series of works that have become famous under the nickname the “six feet”. These are large-scale works that Constable made almost at eye level to demonstrate the importance of the landscape on a par with the traditional and classical themes of that period. The works were thus visible not only from a distance but also helped to elevate the theme of the landscape in English painting.

John Constable. The Artist’s Story

One of the greatest painters in English art history, Constable liberated English artists from traditional painting. Although underrated in Britain, his work influenced the leading French artists of the time and, through them of course, the Impressionists as well.

Constable grew up in Suffolk, England and was fond of local landscape painting since he was a child. Mainly self-taught, he did not attend the schools of the Royal Academy in London until he was twenty. Constable’s early works were influenced by Gainsborough and Dutch landscape artists of the seventeenth (seventeenth) century, but he soon developed his own original style. His purpose in art was to capture the effects of light on nature using very strong and fast brush strokes. Critics considered his paintings to be unfinished and could not understand his passion for natural landscape painting at a time when classical subjects were in vogue. 

Since 1821, Constable has lived and worked in London. But he spent much of his time painting in his home area in Suffolk, which is now known as the ‘Constable Country’. He also painted Hampstead Heath and Salisbury Cathedral. And he has been a full member of the Royal Academy since 1829.

Cover: John Constable, The Hay Wagon, 1821, National Gallery, London

Constable’s Hay Wagon from 1821 is one of the English artist’s most famous landscapes. And it is kept here in London at the National Gallery, the city’s collection of modern art. 

This work immediately suggests a summer day in the English countryside. In fact, this is where John Constable grew up and played as a child. 

The subject of the work

The protagonists are two figures on a chariot in the center of the work. They are crossing a shallow river. The theme of the work seems clear and recognizable enough. But when the work was first exhibited in London in 1821, it represented a radical departure from traditional painting. And unfortunately due to the technique and the choice of materials it was not taken seriously. 

Three years later, however, critics in Paris took a completely different and entirely favorable attitude: the painting won a gold medal. And his simple subject, with references to everyday life, and quick, inaccurate brushstrokes was much admired by French artists.

Constable and the relationship with nature

For Constable, the natural world, particularly the lush and fertile landscape of Suffolk, was a source of inspiration and had a profound influence on him. He tried to communicate his personal relationship with nature through his paintings, which were tales because they represented the everyday English landscape on a large scale. 

Constable’s hay cart. The technique

In terms of technique, Constable’s expressive brushwork, with its quick touches and blotches, has been misunderstood and criticized for being excessively free. 

In The Hay Cart by Constable wanted to convey the movement, vitality and reflected light of this stretch of the River Stour, where he had spent his childhood. The sky, in particular, has a very realistic sense of depth thanks to the clouds. The change of light due to the clouds is reflected on the fields. 

Constable used to work very slowly and the preparations for his great works like The Hay Wagon were very painstaking. He filled entire books with sketches made outdoors in the Stour Valley and then brought them back to his London studio. 

For this work, in addition to the outdoor sketches, he then created a life-size oil sketch on canvas to help with the composition. For the times this was a rather unusual way of working but it gave us a lot of information on the preparation of the work and its method. The oil sketch of The Hay Wagon is kept today in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Constable’s hay cart. Details of the work

The cottage

The exact location of where the sketch of this painting was made can be identified thanks to the cottage on the left. Constable’s father had in fact rented it to a farmer: Willy Lott. The smoke rising from the chimney is a fascinating detail that suggests the presence of the farmer inside the house. The cottage is still standing, in an area of ​​Suffolk known as ‘Constable’s Country’.

The Hay Cart

The protagonist of Constable’s work is a traditional wooden hay cart. The two farmers in the wagon suggest a way of living in harmony with the rhythms of nature. 

The chariot is crossing the river, probably to allow the horses to drink and perhaps to ensure that the metal bands around the wooden wheels fit properly. In fact, wood shrinks when the weather is hot and dry, so the metal edges may have loosened, but they could return to their shape thanks to immersion in water.

The farmers

Small patches of white, brown and red paint in the background of the work in the field represent the workers harvesting hay by hand with scythes. Another cart loaded with freshly cut hay can also be seen. 

The sky

Constable’s depiction of light and shadow on the field suggests the changing sky, typical in England. In fact, good weather in the summer for the wheat harvest can never be guaranteed in this region of England, which is located in the south east. Here the weather varies a lot and blue skies and clouds mix as in Constable’s work. 

Flecks of Red 

Horses’ red collars prevent their harnesses from rubbing their shoulders and backs. Red, however, is an unusual color for work horses. Constable used splashes of red here and elsewhere in the painting to complement and intensify the green of the fields and foliage. The fisherman near the boat in the foreground has a red neckerchief. One of the reapers wears a red sash. And there is a small group of poppies in the lower left corner of the painting.

The washerwoman and the dog

On the left of the work a woman is kneeling on the dock of the cottage. It is not clear if she is washing clothes in the river or simply collecting water: behind her is a clay jug. Its inclusion, like that of the other figures in this landscape, illustrates an aspect of domestic life in this working rural community.

Standing at the edge of the water, the dog is an important element in the painting and directs our gaze towards him. One of the men in the cart makes a gesture towards the animal, as if he wants to lure or knows it. Furthermore, the same dog reappears in other works by Constable.

Constable’s Hay Cart. The preparatory sketches

Constable made numerous preparatory studies of his works in pencil, pen, chalk, watercolor or oil. These sketches were made directly in the open air and in any weather: sun or rain. The sketches were then stored together in notebooks and brought back to his London studio for the creation of his large-scale paintings. These studies were very detailed, so much so that they represented the different seasons, the time of day or even sometimes the direction of the wind. 

Constable is also said to have spent a great deal of time lying in London looking at the clouds in Hampstead Heath park, northwest of the city. An oasis of greenery. 

John Constable’s Large-Scale Works Constable

‘s Hay Wagon is part of a series of works that have become famous under the nickname the “six feet”. These are large-scale works that Constable made almost at eye level to demonstrate the importance of the landscape on a par with the traditional and classical themes of that period. The works were thus visible not only from a distance but also helped to elevate the theme of the landscape in English painting.

John Constable. The Artist’s Story

One of the greatest painters in English art history, Constable liberated English artists from traditional painting. Although underrated in Britain, his work influenced the leading French artists of the time and, through them of course, the Impressionists as well.

Constable grew up in Suffolk, England and was fond of local landscape painting since he was a child. Mainly self-taught, he did not attend the schools of the Royal Academy in London until he was twenty. Constable’s early works were influenced by Gainsborough and Dutch landscape artists of the seventeenth (seventeenth) century, but he soon developed his own original style. His purpose in art was to capture the effects of light on nature using very strong and fast brush strokes. Critics considered his paintings to be unfinished and could not understand his passion for natural landscape painting at a time when classical subjects were in vogue. 

Since 1821, Constable has lived and worked in London. But he spent much of his time painting in his home area in Suffolk, which is now known as the ‘Constable Country’. He also painted Hampstead Heath and Salisbury Cathedral. And he has been a full member of the Royal Academy since 1829.

Cover: John Constable, The Hay Wagon, 1821, National Gallery, London