The Stable Door
The Stable Door was painted three years after Gainsborough's (1727-1788) death at a time when the fifteen year old Constable (1798-1865) was still training to be an artist. Whereas these more idealistic artists used people merely as a part of their landscapes, for Morland they were an integral part of his rural genre scenes. He represented rural life as it was, at a time when meat was a luxury exclusively for the middle and upper classes. In The Stable Door for example, rather than depict his country workers as hearty folk, happy with their lot, he shows them slouched and grumpy, lugging heavy sacks and clearly tired from their labours. As a result of his honesty, Morland's work was often criticised. Despite this, his paintings were popular and frequently forged during his lifetime and later.
