In the video produced by Smarthistory "Constable, "The Hay Wain", 1821" it is mentioned by speaker 1 that Constable was part of the wealthiest class of landowners, the which means he would never have participated in the kind of work that the people in the painting are doing. It is noticeable that the woman in the back washing the clothes and the men driving the cart all seem very calm (see Fig. 2). All of this leads to the idea that Constable's idealization of reality in this painting includes peasants with quiet, peaceful working lives that perhaps reflect his own. This idealization of reality is true of most picturesque romantics