Book Description
This new study on Thomas Gainsborough concentrates on the early life and works of the great eighteenth-century artist. Gainsborough’s talent was evident at a young age, and before he established himself as one of London’s leading portrait artists he was able to indulge himself in his true passion, landscapes, as well as providing portraits for a provincial clientele.
Graced with the light and gentle shadows of the English countryside, these early works provided the foundation for much of Gainsborough’s later work. But many of them, including the renowned Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, and His Daughters Chasing a Butterfly, can be called masterpieces in their own right. It was in Suffolk that the artist developed a naturalistic approach to portraiture by abandoning "conversation pieces" and painting instead a number of straightforward head-and-shoulder portraits. This lively and accessible volume features eighty color and black-and-white reproductions of Gainsborough’s paintings, etchings, and drawings. They not only shed light on the development of one of England’s most revered painters, but also offer an intimate look at the work of a young painter in the thrall of his subjects, and just beginning to realize his full talents.
Publisher comments
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) studied art in London, where he later moved and became a favorite painter of the Royal Family. His work was influenced by Dutch landscape painting, van Dyck and Rubens, but his landscapes, portraits and fancy pictures show the work of an independent and original genius.
About the author
Hugh Belsey is a leading authority on the work of Thomas Gainsborough. He is curator of Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, the artist’s birthplace and the museum which displays more of his paintings, drawings, and prints than any other.
