Thomas Gainsborough (1727 ndash; 1788) was an English portrait and landscape artist; the most versatile English painter of the 18th century. He was the most inventive and original; always prepared to experiment with new ideas and techniques. Gainsborough alone among the great portrait painters of the era also devoted serious attention to landscapes. Unlike Reynolds; he was no great believer in an academic tradition and laughed at the fashion for history painting; an instinctive painter; he delighted in the poetry of paint. In his racy letters Gainsborough shows a warm-hearted and generous character and an independent mind. His comments on his own work and methods; as well as on some of the old masters; are very revealing and throw considerable light on contemporary views of art. Gainsborough was noted for the speed with which he applied paint; and he worked more from observations of nature than from application of formal academic rules. The poetic sensibility of his paintings caused Constable to say; "On looking at them; we find tears in our eyes and know not what brings them." His later work was characterized by a light palette and easy; economical strokes.
#3953842 in eBooks 2016-04-21 2016-04-21File Name: B01D4IZC9S
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