Constable's Haywain

Haywain by John Constable is one of the most important landscape oil paintings in history and marks the pinnacle of the career of this famous British artist who left a great legacy within British art. John Constable helped turn landscape painting into a respected art form when previously it had been derided by academics who preferred portraits and religious depictions that have now become to appear dated in the modern day. This article examines Constable's The Haywain oil painting and also considers where it fits into the artist's overall career.

John Constable was an artist who remained fully committed to landscape painting and was never interested in attempting other avenues of creativity, other than the occasional pencil-sketch self-portrait which have recently been attributed to him. To find an artist so behind an art genre which at the time was not viewed with respect shows someone with a huge amount of self-confidence and innovation and these types of artists have been crucial in the overall development of European art since the middle ages.

The Haywain has long since been accepted by academics and the art public alike as John Constable's finest work. This alone makes the painting an extremely important title within British and European art. The scene found within Haywain is classically English both in the natural green scenery and also the farming components to be found in the foreground. The English countryside has become regarded as a fantastic opportunity for landscape artists and it is people such as Constable who helped promote this reputation.

Constable and Turner

John Constable and fellow landscape artist JMW Turner are arguably the most influential painters in the history of British art where European art has normally been centred in other countries such as Italy, Germany and Netherlands with France also proving important within the last 150 years.

Despite having careers of exceptional depth and quality, Constable and Turner have become best known for one painting each, as is the case for so many other influential artists. Whilst JMW Turner is remembered for his Fighting Temeraire seascape classic painting, Constable is always linked most to his Haywain painting above all others from his long and prestigious career which actually lasted from 1776 to 1837.

Famous John Constable Paintings

Although the Haywain dominates the media coverage of Constable's career in the modern era he did produce many other exceptional paintings such as Dedham Vale, Landscape: Ploughing Scene in Suffolk, Boat-building near Flatford Mill, Golding Constable's Kitchen Garden, Wivenhoe Park, Essex, Flatford Mill, Weymouth Bay, Hampstead Heath and Stratford Mill.

John Constable never truly experienced financial wealth from his career despite the qualities of his oil paintings and it was only in later generations that the importance and brilliance of his art was truly recognised by both the art public and academics alike.

In conclusion, The Haywain is a classically British oil painting set against the beautiful natural landscape of the Suffolk countryside where skilled artist John Constable was so passionate with his work that he would never differ from this passion to the native surroundings that were so close to his heart.