3-015-762 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Flailing Turnip-Heads, East Bergholt, c1812-15. Constable often painted farm laborers working in the countryside. Here, his father’s tenants are shown beating turnip heads to collect their oil-rich seeds, which were used to feed livestock. In the foreground, workers thresh and sift the seeds over a blanket, while other figures on the right burn the leftover flowers, stems, and leaves.