The Cornfield
The artist
John Constable, an English painter who loved the green fields and skies of his home countryside.
What you see
A shady country lane leads to a golden field of ripe grain, where a boy lies down to drink from a cool stream.
The story
Constable painted it in 1826, showing a real path he walked as a boy on his way to school in the English county of Suffolk.
The style
He dotted the leaves and grass with tiny flecks of bright paint so the whole scene seems to shimmer in the summer light.
Look closer
Look for the little sheepdog and the flock of sheep walking down the lane toward the boy and the stream.
Where to see it
It hangs in the National Gallery in London, England.
Fun fact
In England the word corn means wheat and other grain, so this cornfield is really a field of golden wheat.