Constable spent the summer and early autumn of 1814 in Suffolk, painting directly from nature. In one such work, The Stour Valley and Dedham Village, he portrays a panoramic view over the Stour Valley from a raised position on the road. He shows Dedham church and village to the left of centre, and labourers shovelling manure in the foreground. This down-to-earth image of the landscape around his home is a realistic record of Suffolk farming practice of the time and emphasises the value of honest farming life. The men would clear manure from the stockyards and deposit it beside the fields in June. In September they shovelled it up and carted it away to spread over the fields.
By this time the common lands were being enclosed and were no longer available for use by poorer members of the community. Constable was very anxious about this transformation, and his paintings sometimes reflect a respect for the past, rather than an acceptance of social change.
The image is not framed by the large trees often found in his picturesque landscapes (influenced by Claude Lorrain). Here the horizon bisects the composition and the viewer’s eye is led through the image via the dark shadow of the foreground, with the line of trees emphasising the horizontality of the painting. The lighter area in the lower right is balanced by the sunlit background and distant village.
Constable painted this work as a preparatory study for a painting commissioned by Thomas Fitzhugh for his bride, as a memento of the valley she knew well and was leaving behind.
Question
• How does this painting reflect Constable’s feelings about contemporary farming practice?