A Cornfield is an 1817 painting by English Romantic landscape artist John Constable. This work is located in the Tate Museum in London, England.
This romantic landscape was painted two years after The Corn Laws of 1815 were passed by the British Parliament to regulate the import of grain, known as “corn,” primarily wheat, as opposed to the current term ‘corn’ referring to maize. Introduced at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, they aimed to protect British landowners and farmers from cheaper foreign grain flooding the market.
The protectionist laws imposed high tariffs on imported corn, allowing imports only when domestic prices reached a high threshold. While this policy kept grain prices high and stable for landowners, it increased the cost of bread for the general population. Urban workers and the poor were particularly affected, as food consumed a large share of their income. Industrialists also opposed the laws, arguing that high food prices forced them to pay higher wages. The Corn Laws became a focal point of political and social conflict, symbolising aristocratic privilege. Growing pressure led to their repeal in 1846, marking Britain’s shift toward free trade.