Constable redefined the notion of a finished picture by giving his large landscapes

something of the spontaneous freedom and expressive handling of a rapidly painted

sketch.

Constable chose the moment when the horse, mounted by a boy, was leaping the
barrier, which gave vigour to the scene.

He depicted it from a low viewpoint to give the horse and rider a dramatic presence.

In the Float Jump over the river Stour.

Constables principal concern was not, however, with the specifics of the location but
rather capturing the atmosphere of place and the general feelings associated with
experiencing nature. He sought to present nature as something mutable, not fixed.

In this painting he wanted to convey the feel of the wind, the shimmering of light, the
sense of being outdoors.

And he extended the experience of the landscape by depicting a moorhen startled

from her nest by the thundering of the horses hoofs.

Constables handling of paint is expressionist and almost abstract. He used palette knife
as well as brush, with which he created a visual impression of flickering lights and
shadows. The light rises as if the sun is coming out and the storm clouds are blowing
away. It sparkles on the trees on the left and gives the pollarded tree in the centre a
silvery look.

Constable also carried through his interest in skying into all his large landscapes. In
saying the sky was the chief organ of sentiment in a painting, he emphasised his belief
in the expressive importance of the sky, and its ability to dictate the mood of a
landscape.4 His skies are a vital part of his compositions.

They transform comfortable, stable scenes into ones of continual change and transition