BEFORE CONSTABLE (1776-1837), artists painted landscapes. They did, of course, although not as the main subject of the painting in its own right. Instead, they painted the landscape as a backdrop for a picture that had a historical narrative, allegorical story, biblical scripture or portrait fronting it.
However, Constable made landscape his main subject matter, constantly returning to the beloved rural landscape of his youth to sketch and paint cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys and dogs all living in harmony with man and farmer next door to windmills, barges, carts, scythes and pitchforks.
The artist wasn’t charmed by the regulated city parks. Constable avoided their formal artificially cultivated space, saying, “It is not beauty because it is not nature.” Hence the painter escaped to wilder landscapes, wanting, “a lovely, lively and…