Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows; The Rainbow, Salisbury Cathedral; Salisbury Cathedral (Large plate); The Church under a Cloud

This is a large mezzotint engraving of the six-foot canvas that Constable considered the summation of his achievement in landscape painting. Engraved by David Lucas, it’s the last and arguably the finest achievement of one of the closest collaborations between a painter and a printmaker in the history of British art. Although dated in this impression as published on 20 March 1837, owing to Constable's constant last-minute alterations and changes of mind the plate did not in fact go to press on that day, and remained unpublished for another 11 years.

Constable had been particularly worried about the rainbow – he wrote in a letter 'We cannot fail of this plate with a proper bow”, though we know that Lucas's final alterations met with the painter's approval. On seeing the rich and full tone achieved in proofs pulled by a “ruffian” printer hired for the purpose, Constable wrote in triumph that “The print is a noble and beautifull thing - entirely improved and entirely made perfect.”