River Bank with Trees (recto); Herd of Cattle Beneath Trees, with Inset Sketch of Landscape (verso) 1796 - 1837

This drawing was created by John Constable using graphite on paper. Constable wasn't interested in the smooth, polished surfaces prized in academic art. Instead, the grainy texture of the paper and the soft, smudgy quality of the graphite were crucial to his project. Look closely and you can see the direction of his strokes, laid down rapidly to capture the shifting light and movement of the scene. The marks of the material are very present. This wasn't just about representing the landscape; it was about how the landscape could be captured through direct physical engagement with the materials of art. Constable’s practice was very much rooted in a romantic ideal of landscape, but in a rapidly industrializing England, his appreciation of the countryside spoke to a simpler time. The drawing, with its immediacy and tactile quality, becomes a kind of record, not just of a place, but of a way of seeing and valuing the natural world. It challenges the traditional hierarchy that privileged finished paintings over works on paper.