A Lane near Flatford

John Constable completed this vigorous oil sketch around 1810-11, probably on Fen Lane near Flatford in Suffolk. The brushwork suggests scudding clouds and trees bristling in the wind. Dark blues and greens capture the changeable English weather with spontaneous energy.

Flatford Mill belonged to Constable's father, and the surrounding landscape became central to the artist's work. This sketch shows Constable working directly from nature, capturing fleeting atmospheric effects rather than composing idealized views. The immediacy of such studies influenced later Impressionist painters. The work is at Tate in London.