Constable: A Country Rebel, airs on BBC Four

In this film, made in conjunction with a landmark exhibition at the V&A, Alastair Sooke discovers that Constable was painting in a way that was completely new and groundbreaking at the time.

Through experimentation and innovation he managed to make a sublime art from humble things and, though he struggled in his own country during his lifetime, his genius was surprisingly widely admired in France.

Constable: A Country Rebel, Sunday 7th September at 9.30pm on BBC Four