John Constable was born in Suffolk, England, and is mainly known for revolutionising the genre of landscape paintings and Romanticism and the Sublime.

John was never financially stable throughout his life, even though now his paintings are considered some of the most popular and expensive in British art. He attended the Royal Academy of arts at the age of 52, then further went on to sell most of his art work in Franc where his art was most embraced.

Most of John Constables paintings were based around where he live/grew up.

The Hay Wain

The painting above depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex.

Towards the left of the painting, there is a house which was owned by a Constable’s father and was rented out by a farmer, which was said to have been born in the cottage and only spent a total of four days away from it.

Constable’s father owned 90 acres of land surrounding this painting, this further shows how John was privileged and from a upper class family. Yet his paintings include people from a working class background which seem to be working hard to gain an income

The painting above is a tow-horse being ferried across the river in Flatford, just below the Lock, at a point where the towpath switches banks.