‘River Stour’ Mezzotint Engraving (After a Work by John Constable). From ‘English Landscape Scenery’, 1855

In the late 1820s, Constable became interested in publishing prints of his paintings, which had been critically acclaimed but were less commercially popular. He hoped to change this by issuing printed reproductions destined for a wider audience. Although advised to use lithography, he felt that mezzotint could be better adapted to simulate his painterly effects. He found an unknown but talented mezzotint engraver, David Lucas, and in 1829 they began work on a series of mezzotints, which would be issued as Various Subjects of Landscape, Characteristic of English Scenery.