An oak tree in a hayfield thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case TOPIC, Shelf 13, Box C

An oak tree in a hayfield

Drawing
c. 1810-c. 1819 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

'Portraits' of individual trees were a recurring subject in Constable's oeuvre. Often tranquil, sometimes dramatic, they often carried implications of stability and timelessness and reflected Constable's love of nature, which was both sensual and spiritual. In this sketch, Constable juxtaposed the broad crown of an old oak with a hayfield bathed in the late afternoon sun. This idyllic scene reflects the idea, widespread at the time, that a nation's countryside represented its social and political state; scenes of cultivation and husbandry indicated a state of order and harmony.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleAn oak tree in a hayfield (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil and paper
Brief description
Drawing of an oak tree in a hayfield, by John Constable
Physical description
A pencil drawing of an oak tree with a broad, leafy crown, growing beside a hayfield. A cluster of haystacks appears in the distance.
Dimensions
  • Height: 120mm
  • Width: 172mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • '22 July Afternoon' followed by serial number '36' (Inscribed on the back)
  • 'E&P' (Watermark (indistinct))
Credit line
Given by Isabel Constable, daughter of the artist
Object history
This sketch has proven difficult to date; the emphasis on the long shadows cast by the stooks of hay recalls the oil sketch (Reynolds cat. no. 115) of 1812, but there are no other clues as to the year it was drawn.
Historical context
In 1819 Constable exhibited at the Royal Academy 'A scene on the River Stour' ('The White Horse'), bought by John Fisher, and now in the Frick Collection, New York (see the sketch-book No. 132, pp. 66 and 70). His second child Maria Louisa (Minna) was born on 19 July. He took a house at Hampstead for the first time at the end of the summer. He was elected A.R.A. on 1 November.

[G Reynolds, 1973, p. 121]

The contemporary poems of Goldsmith, Thomson, and Cowper emphasised the idea that the countryside represented the social and political state of a nation, with scenes of cultivation signifying order and harmony. These ideas had a decisive influence on Constable's depiction of the East Anglian countryside.
Subject depicted
Summary
'Portraits' of individual trees were a recurring subject in Constable's oeuvre. Often tranquil, sometimes dramatic, they often carried implications of stability and timelessness and reflected Constable's love of nature, which was both sensual and spiritual. In this sketch, Constable juxtaposed the broad crown of an old oak with a hayfield bathed in the late afternoon sun. This idyllic scene reflects the idea, widespread at the time, that a nation's countryside represented its social and political state; scenes of cultivation and husbandry indicated a state of order and harmony.
Bibliographic reference
Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, pp. 121, 125
Other number
178, plate 142 - Reynolds Catalogue No.
Collection
Accession number
357-1888

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdOctober 13, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest