A View at Hampstead with Stormy Weather
ca. 1830
John Constable moved to Hampstead in the 1820s for his wife's health, but ended up falling madly in love with the dramatic skies above the village. This moody sketch captures a storm rolling in over the landscape, with dark, swirling clouds threatening to swallow the lush green trees below. Constable painted these quick, energetic outdoor studies to capture the fleeting effects of light and weather, breaking away from the stiff, polished landscapes of his time. His obsession with the sky was so intense he once wrote that it was the 'chief organ of sentiment' in a painting!
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