THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788)
Landscape... Lot 52
result :
Not available
Estimate :
Subscribers only
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788)
Landscape with farmer, milkmaid and cows in front of a house
in the country
Canvas
56 x 110 cm
Provenance: Lawrie, 1898; acquired from him by R.W.Hudson, 1902; remained in his descendants,
Private collection, Monte-Carlo
Villa Paloma: -Inventory 1950; -Inventory 1934
Exhibition :
Corporation of London Art Gallery, Selection of Works by French and English Painters of the Eighteenth Century, 1902, no. 52
Click here to see our report on the work: https:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=N67cXQzoLUk
Bibliography:
-Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough and his place in English Art, 1898 p.206, illustrated. P.VII
-A.B. Chamberlain, Thomas Gainsborough, 1903, pages.144-145, illustrated.p.51;
-Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough, 1904, p.287, illustrated p.16;
-William Boulton, Thomas Gainsborough his Life, Works, Friends and Sitters, 1905, pages 48,62;
-E.K. Waterhouse, Thomas Gainsborough, 1953, no. 905;
-John Hayes, The Landscape Paintigs of Thomas Gainsborough, London, 1982, vol. 2, p. 457, no. 111 (repr. p.458).
Hayes dates this painting to about 1772-1774, i.e., at the end of Gainsborough's stay in Bath (1759-1774) and just before his second move to London. It was during this period that he painted some of his finest pure landscapes (Philadelphia Museum of Art; Iveagh Bequest - Kenwood, London; Tate Gallery, London; Cincinnati Art
Museum; Yale center for British Art, New Haven).
Gainsborough showed a real pleasure in painting landscapes, both as a background to his portraits, which brought him fame and wealth, and as an independent genre. He was one of the first native painters of landscapes of the English countryside. From his early years in London in 1740, he seems to have been recognized as in this field, especially through views of his native Suffolck. By 1748, his talent was already sufficiently noted that William Hogarth commissioned him to paint a small view of the Charterhouse at Foundling Hospital (Thomas Coram Foundation). His descriptions are not strictly topographical, but rather a
poetic interpretation of the place with the memory of the Dutch painters of the 17th century, in particular Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Wijnants in his youth. Then he looks at the works of Albert Cuyp (noticeable here in the way the four cows are grouped or in the detail of the shepherdess milking), Téniers, and
Claude Lorrain.
The influence of Dutch realism gave way, in the following years, to the more dramatic and imaginative landscapes of Peter Paul Rubens, through a light palette and a freer, lighter touch, a stylistic path that recalls that of the landscape painter Fragonard, a few years later.
But the style here is very much that of the 18th century, "rocaille", more sketchy, with a dynamic composition divided by an ascending diagonal: on the right a large silvery sky, all in vibrations
while the animals, the two figures and the house (cottage) are concentrated at the bottom and on the left side. Gainsborough's subtlety and intelligence ensure that this oblique line is not strict, slightly offset by the tree trunk, and broken by both the descending slope of the thatched roof and the verticality of the boy carrying the
buckets of milk.
Video youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N67cXQzoLUk
Landscape with farmer, milkmaid, and cows before a Country home
Canvas
56 x 110 cm
Provenance: Lawrie, 1898; acquired by the latter from R.W. Hudson,
1902; through descent, private collection, Monte-Carlo
Exhibit:
Corporation of London Art Gallery, Selection of Works by French and
English Painters of the Eighteenth Century, 1902, no. 5
Bibliography:
-Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough and his place in English Art, 1898 p.206, illustrated. P.VII
-A.B. Chamberlain, Thomas Gainsborough, 1903, pages.144-145, illustrated.p.51;
-Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough, 1904, p.287, illustrated p.16;
-William Boulton, Thomas Gainsborough his Life, Works,
Friends and Sitters, 1905
We use cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience, perform site traffic analysis, and deliver content and advertisements most relevant to your interests.
Cookie management:
By allowing these cookies, you agree to the deposit, reading and use of tracking technologies necessary for their proper functioning. Read more about our privacy policy.