My Local John Constable Painting

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John Constable is one of the most famous painters of the English Landscape. If you’re not familiar with his work, it is your Anglophile duty to learn everything you can about his catalog of works. His most famous work is The Hay Wain, which I will describe in a minute. But it’s not my favorite work of Constables; my favorite work is much closer to home in Chicago. It is called Stoke-by-Neyland, and to me, it perfectly typifies the English countryside.

But first, The Hay Wain. Painted by John Constable in 1821, it is one of the most iconic works of English landscape art. The painting depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. At the center of the composition is a wooden hay wain, or wagon, being drawn by three horses across a shallow river. To the left, a cottage – known as Willy Lott’s Cottage – stands on the riverbank, its red bricks and thatched roof providing a warm contrast to the lush greenery surrounding it. The right side of the painting opens up to a sunlit meadow, where farmhands can be seen working. The painting captures a moment of tranquil rural life, balancing precise observation with a romantic sensibility.

It is currently one of the most famous and visited pieces in the National Gallery in London. It is magnificent to behold, and I love it – I even have a print of it hanging in my house somewhere. But it is not my favorite painting by Constable. No, my favorite is Stoke-by-Neyland, which depicts another countryside scene that I feel is more real, more beautiful, and more ‘Constabley’ to coin a technical term. And it’s not just because I can do see it pretty much any time I like because it’s literally down the street.

When I go to a place, my silent goal is always to find the British things. I’ve mastered this ‘skill’ quite well over the years. So, in my dozens of visits to the Art Institute of Chicago, of course, I have a private catalog in my head of all the works by British artists or of British subjects. We’re lucky that at the Art Institute, we not only have works by Constable but also JMW Turner, Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Hockney, and several more.

I love them all, but my favorite is the Constable – Stoke-by-Nayland. Among his many celebrated works, “Stoke-by-Nayland,” painted in 1836, stands as a testament to the artist’s enduring love for his native Suffolk landscape and his mastery of the art of landscape painting.

Created just a year before Constable’s death, “Stoke-by-Nayland” is considered one of the artist’s late masterpieces. The painting depicts the church of St. Mary’s in the village of Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, a location not far from Constable’s birthplace. This proximity to the artist’s roots imbues the work with a sense of personal connection and deep familiarity, evident in every brushstroke.

The composition of “Stoke-by-Nayland” is a study of balance and drama. The church dominates the canvas, its tower reaching towards a turbulent sky that seems alive with motion and light. This sky and its clouds, always a hallmark of Constable’s work, showcases the artist’s unparalleled ability to capture atmospheric effects. The foreground is populated with elements typical of Constable’s rural scenes: gnarled trees, verdant fields, and country folk going about their daily lives. These elements ground the painting in the everyday reality of rural England, even as the dramatic sky lends an air of the sublime.

Constable’s technique in “Stoke-by-Nayland” exemplifies his mature style. The brushwork is loose and expressive, particularly in the rendering of foliage and clouds. It is one of his most impressionistic paintings. He employs a rich palette dominated by greens and blues, with touches of warm colors that create depth and enhance the sense of atmosphere. Notably, Constable uses impasto – the thick application of paint – to create texture and dimensionality, especially in the clouds and vegetation. This technique not only adds visual interest but also captures the play of light across different surfaces, a key aspect of Constable’s artistic vision.

The significance of “Stoke-by-Nayland” extends beyond its technical mastery. This painting represents the culmination of Constable’s lifelong exploration of the Suffolk landscape. Throughout his career, he made numerous sketches and studies of Stoke-by-Nayland, each informing his understanding of the location’s character and mood. This final version distills years of observation and emotional connection into a single, powerful image.

Moreover, “Stoke-by-Nayland” embodies the ideals of the Romantic movement in landscape painting. The Romantics sought to evoke emotional responses through their depictions of nature, often infusing seemingly ordinary scenes with a sense of the sublime. Constable achieves this by juxtaposing the solid, timeless presence of the church against the dynamic, ever-changing sky. The result is a landscape that feels both familiar and transcendent, rooted in the specific geography of Suffolk yet speaking to universal themes of man’s relationship with nature and the passage of time.

The historical context of “Stoke-by-Nayland” adds another layer of meaning to the work. Painted during the height of the Industrial Revolution, the scene can be interpreted as a nostalgic view of rural England at a time of rapid change. The peaceful village, dominated by its ancient church, stands in stark contrast to the industrial landscapes that were becoming increasingly common in other parts of the country. In this light, Constable’s painting becomes not just a representation of a place, but a preservation of a way of life that was under threat.

The painting used to hang in one of the Institute’s larger gallery rooms, alone and out of context with the other British artists. I was pleased that in the last year or so, they did a slight rehang and moved the Constable to live in the same gallery as the Institute’s Turners (I will write another article about these another time). They now look at each other in juxtaposition. Two artists, both in their later years, who did not really like each other much. Now, they are stuck in the same room together. It’s a smaller room, the large Constable painting does feel a bit cramped, but I like that he’s sharing gallery space with Turner once more as they would have in the Royal Society of Arts during their heyday. 

I have found quite a bit of solace in the British art at the Art Institute during the four-year gap when I was unable to visit Britain; regular visits here help feed my need for British art and culture. If I ever felt down, I just needed to pop into Chicago and look at this magnificent painting. Standing in front of it, you are instantly transported to the English countryside that exists in our imaginations. It may not be quite a real place, but Constable makes it feel real in works like Stoke-by-Nayland. It may not be considered in the top ten of his work by serious art historians, but it is my favorite and will remain so, as long as I can pop down the road to see it whenever I like.

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