Painting of the Month

The critics

When 'The Hay Wain' was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1821, it was not well received by the critics. In Constable's day, the 17th-century artist Claude was considered to be the ideal landscape painter, to whom all other artists should aspire.

Claude's imaginary landscapes, created almost 200 years earlier, were painted with muted colours and carefully balanced and symmetrical in their design. 'The Hay Wain', with its sketchy style, thick 'impasto' brushstrokes and bright colours, did not conform to this tradition, though Constable was a great admirer of Claude's paintings.

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