John Constable has been considered as the best English artist of the 19th century and a major contributor to the landscape painting in England besides J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) and Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-28). The landscape painting genre portrays natural scenery as mountains, canyons, river and forests in a cohesive and coherent composition.

This painting, “Boat Building near Flatford Mill” oil on canvas, 50.8 cm x 61.6 cm was completed in 1815 depicting the pleasant summer day on the banks of the River Stour. Constable painted the unfinished barge with a great degree of detail and the general effect is of a calm, serene and monotonous day. The artist rebelled against the artistic culture of that era that taught artists to use their imagination rather than nature itself, and for this canvas he painted wholly in the plein air. It is displayed at Victoria and Albert Museum, London. — M.I.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 30th, 2015

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