Detail View: The AMICA Library: Summer Morning

In 1827, Constable began work on the project that would occupy his attention until his death seven years later: the publication of a series of prints based on his paintings that would stand as a summary of his achievements. The painter collaborated closely with the engraver David Lucas to create prints that would illustrate Constable's didactic intention-to illustrate the 'chiaroscuro of nature.' The medium of mezzotint, in which the design is developed from dark to light using a wide range of velvety tones, was eminently suited to the project. Here, the bright sun of a summer morning illuminates a richly textured landscape, striated in light and shade.