The Haywain Flashcards
Subject:
Large scale naturalistic landscape based on an actual site near Flatford, Suffolk on the river Stour.
Alterations:
The scene is not topographically accurate. The artist has made alterations to the shape of the river to extend the banks in order to create a composition with greater breadth to show humanity in harmony with nature.
Light:
Constable conveys the immediacy of a particular time and place through light and colour. The cloudy sky indicates the possibility of rain, evoking English summertime.
Sense of space:
A sense of deep space is created by the curve of the water’s edge leading to the low horizon line and expansive sky, and the diminishing scale of figures from foreground to background.
Influence of Romanticism:
Rejects the classical and idealised subjects of Neoclassicism and instead portrays the Romantic notion of a subjective, personal vision of the world. Loose brushstrokes and spontaneous composition reject the precision of the Neoclassical style.
The cottage:
Shown on the left belonged to Constable’s father, rented by a tenant farmer called Willy Lott who was born in there.
Sense of harmony between man and nature:
Demonstrated by woman drawing water from the river, as well as the man fishing. Evokes a sense of community and godliness– the antithesis of city life.
The Haywain:
The horse drawn cart crosses the river at a ford. The two workers have stopped to let the horses drink, but also to stabilise the wagon - the summer heat has expanded the metal rims of the wheels. A local country boy, Constable was familiar with these details of rural life.
Georgic landscape: (i.e. a working landscape)
The time of year must be between June and August: haymaking season due to the workers in the background.
Large scale:
According to institutions such as the Royal Academy and its former president, Sir Joshua Reynolds – landscape was considered one of the lowest genres of painting. Constable appropriates the language of History Painting, adopting the large scale previously reserved for mythological and biblical subjects to imbue his subject with dignity and moral meaning.
The Picturesque
19th c Landscapes were guided by two rival concepts: the picturesque (Constable), which emphasized visual delight, and the sublime, (Turner) which emphasised the power of the natural world. Both responded to concerns about industrialisation and the Romantic notion of man living in harmony with nature.
The Industrial Revolution in Britain (1750s-1900s)
Captures the countryside as a romantic idyll removed from the damaging effects of urbanisation, which had prompted an increase in crime, gambling and prostitution in Victorian cities.
The Agricultural Revolution (1750s-1900s)
Introduced new technology such as the threshing machine –dispensing with the need for workers which led to riots. Constable conveys a scene of man in harmony with the nature– no presence of industrial machinery.
The Enclosure Act (1750s)
Enclosure Acts fenced off previously communal, open fields, reducing labour opportunities in the countryside, forcing many to move into the cities. Constable’s landscape is untouched by these political problems.
Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815):
After Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, soldiers returning from war were unable to find work, causing economic depression and social unrest.
