Picture Study is simple. Look at the picture with your children for a few minutes, and then talk about what you saw. Try to remember as much about the piece as you can. Enjoy the beauty of it. Art is not a chore; it’s a pleasure. We’ve chosen some works by Thomas Gainsborough for this month.
Biography:
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) lived in England and was one of the premier artists of the 18th century. He was well known as the foremost portrait artist of the time, commissioned for portraits of royalty, including the king of England. His first passion was landscape artistry, mainly of local scenery, and his landscapes reflect influences from Dutch landscape artists of the 17th century. The names of his paintings were plain, describing the subject just as it is. For instance, his first subject with a landscape background was Bumper a Bull Terrier. His art was far from plain, though, as you will see in such paintings as the striking portrait of the Study of an Angel after Van Dyck, the engagingly vivid Blue Boy, and the serene Homecoming below. Enjoy!
Art:
Resources:
Books
- Biography: Gainsborough (World of Art)
- Written by the artist: The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough
Websites
Videos
Photo of Artist: By Thomas Gainsborough – The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151233