Head of a Girl, probably a portrait of Mary Constable

This portrait of a young woman, probably Constable's sister Mary, was painted around 1806, when Constable was still maintaining a practice in portrait work as a source of income. He had studied portraiture assiduously at the Royal Academy Schools and was capable of competent, even sensitive character studies, but he regarded portrait commissions as an unwelcome distraction from landscape, famously declining several substantial portrait commissions when he felt they would consume time he needed for outdoor painting. Mary Constable was four years younger than John, and this portrait, if correctly identified, is a work made for affection rather than payment — which perhaps accounts for its modest scale and intimate character. The V&A's Constable collection contains relatively few figure works, making this one of the rarer members of the group, and it serves as a reminder that Constable's identity as a landscape painter was a deliberate artistic choice maintained against economic pressure, not a simple matter of natural limitation. Family portraits like this one occupied an entirely different emotional register from his professional commissions.

The portrait is painted with warm, sensitive flesh tones and a soft focus that suggests intimate familiarity with the sitter. The background is kept deliberately plain to focus attention on the face, which is modeled with subtle chiaroscuro.

This portrait study from about 1806 is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The painting demonstrates Constable's portrait abilities, which he considered secondary to his landscape work but practised throughout his early career. The small canvas has been stabilized and cleaned. The flesh tones are well-preserved. The work provides evidence of Constable's ability as a portraitist.