Thomas Gainsborough - Delphi Complete Works of Thomas Gainsborough (Illustrated)

Thomas Gainsborough

(1727-1788)

Contents

Delphi Classics 2016

Version 1

Masters of Art Series

Thomas Gainsborough

By Delphi Classics, 2016

Masters of Art - Thomas Gainsborough

First published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by Delphi Classics.

Delphi Classics, 2016.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 78656 493 1

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Sudbury, Suffolk Gainsboroughs birthplace

Sudburys central marketplace

Gainsborough, self portrait, 1754

THE HIGHLIGHTS

In this section, a sample of Gainsboroughs most celebrated works is provided, with concise introductions, special detail reproductions and additional biographical images.

Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woollen goods, and his wife, the sister of the Reverend Humphry Burroughs. The artist spent his childhood in what is now Gainsboroughs House, on Gainsborough Street (he later resided there, following the death of his father in 1749) a dedicated museum to his life and art.

As a child he impressed his father with his drawing and painting skills; he almost certainly had painted heads and small landscapes by the time he was ten years old, including a miniature self portrait. Gainsborough was allowed to leave home in 1740 to study art in London, where he trained under the engraver Hubert Gravelot, though he was to become more associated with William Hogarth and his school. Gainsborough assisted Francis Hayman in the decoration of the supper boxes at Vauxhall Gardens and went on to contribute to the decoration of what is now the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children.

In 1746, Gainsborough married Margaret Burr, an illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Beaufort, who settled a 200 annuity on the pair. Aided by these funds, at the age of twenty Gainsborough became a householder in Ipswich, his rent being 6 a year. At Ipswich, his sitters were not so numerous as to prevent him from often rambling with his friend Joshua Kirby (president of the Society of Artists) on the banks of the Orwell. His chief passion in art was the painting of landscapes, carefully drawn and detailed in the Dutch manner. The following plate of a wooded scene presents a view of the village of Cornard in Suffolk, and the canvas is now known as Gainsboroughs Forest, under which name a print of it was published by the Boydells in 1790. From a young age Gainsborough had greatly admired the landscapes of the Dutch topographical tradition of the previous century, in particular the works of Jacob van Ruisdael, who specialised in wooded scenes, with cloudy skies, noted for their naturalism. Typical to these landscapes, are the scattering of human figures around the woodland scene, as employed in Gainsboroughs Forest . The idyllic and humble mood of the painting is also heavily imbued with the style of Ruisdael. The scene unmistakably emphasises the artists love for his native Sudbury countryside.

A difficulty facing Gainsborough was that there was practically no market for such subjects of paintings at that time. For an English artist to enjoy success in the mid-eighteenth century, he would have to turn his attention to portraiture, where the demand was high. The young artist was quick to adapt his choice of subject to cater for this demand.

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

William Hogarth FRSA (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist, whose worked greatly influenced the young Gainsborough.

Dune Landscape by Jacob van Ruisdael, 1646. Ruisdaels Dutch landscapes would have a lasting impression on the art of Gainsborough.

Cornard, Suffolk, today

Gainsborough was about twenty-one-years old when he painted the famous portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews in 1750. He had just married the pregnant Margaret Burr and returned to Sudbury, Suffolk, his home town as well as that of the Andrews, after an apprenticeship in London with the French artist Hubert-Franois Gravelot, from whom he learnt the French rococo style. As landscape painting was far less prestigious and poorly paid compared to portraits, Gainsborough was forced to face paint as he later termed it. Though a portrait, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews features a wild landscape, appearing as a sorrowful farewell to the young artists preferred subject of art. Future paintings would be set against neutral or typical rococo settings. It has been speculated that Gainsborough wished to show off his landscape ability to potential clients to satisfy his personal preference.