Painting of the Month

Constable's technique

We might imagine that 'The Hay Wain' was painted in Suffolk, with Constable spending every day at the mill-pond throughout the summer months until it was finished. However, the painting was actually created in his studio in London over the winter, based on a series of sketches he had made earlier in the year.

Constable's methods were considered rather radical. He applied thick layers of paint to the canvas, in a technique known as 'impasto'. He also used dabs of white paint to give the impression of light reflecting off water drops.

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