Constable's varied brushstrokes capture the light and weather of the English landscape, the textures of earth and foliage. He was the son of a miller, and his images of his native Suffolk often record the activities of the agricultural year. This down-to-earth scene shows manure being taken from a dung heap to be spread over the fields after harvest. The painting was commissioned as a wedding present for a bride who, like Constable, had grown up in this area.