Painting of the Month

Vive la différence!

Below: Detail from Monet, 'Bathers at La Grenouillère', 1869. London, The National Gallery

Though British audiences did not appreciate 'The Hay Wain', the French were far more welcoming. Constable was invited to exhibit the painting at the Paris Salon in 1824, where it was a huge success. Among the artists who heaped praise upon 'The Hay Wain' were Delacroix and Corot, who were both influenced by the painting. Meanwhile, art students all over Paris tried to paint landscapes 'à la Constable'.  

The sketchiness of Constable's style and his use of paint were characteristic of the Impressionist movement that would develop in Paris some fifty years later. Perhaps these techniques were less alien and bewildering to French eyes back then. Today, they are part of what we enjoy about this quintessentially English masterpiece.

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