Landscape with peasant, milkmaid and cows in front of a house
the country
Canvas
56x110 inch
Provenance: Lawrie, 1898; acquired from it by RWHudson, 1902; remained in his lineage,
Private collection, Monte-Carlo
Villa Paloma: -Inventory 1950; -1934 inventory
Exposure:
Corporation of London Art Gallery, Selection of Works by French and English Painters of the Eighteenth Century, 1902, no. 52
Bibliographie:
-Sir Walter Armstrong, Gainsborough and his place in English Art, 1898 p.206, illustrated. P.VII
-AB 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;
-EK Waterhouse, Thomas Gainsborough, 1953, no. 905;
-John Hayes, The Landscape Paintigs of Thomas Gainsborough, London, 1982, vol. 2, p. 457, n°111 (repr.p.458).
Hayes dates this painting around 1772-1774, that is to say at the end of Gainsborough's stay in Bath (1759-1774) and just before his second move to London. It was at this time 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 shows a real pleasure in painting landscapes, whether in the background of his portraits, which brought him notoriety and wealth, but also as an independent genre. He is one of the first Aboriginal landscape painters of the English countryside. From his early years in London in 1740, he seems to have been recognized as in this field, thanks in particular to views of his native Suffolck. In 1748, his talent was already sufficiently noticed for William Hogarth to commission a small view of the Charterhouse of the Foundling Hospital (Thomas Coram Foundation). His descriptions are not strictly topographical, but rather a
poetic interpretation of the places with the memory of the Dutch painters of the 17th century, in particular Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Wijnants in his youth. Then, he takes a look at the works of Albert Cuyp (noticeable here in the way of grouping the four cows or in the detail of the shepherdess milking), of Téniers, and of
Claude Lorraine.
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 more free, removed touch, a stylistic path reminiscent of that of Fragonard paysagiste, several years later.
But the manner here is quite that of the 18th century, "rock garden", more sketchy, with a dynamic composition shared by an ascending diagonal: on the right a large silver sky, all in vibrations
bright, 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 is not strict, slightly offset by the tree trunk, and broken both by the downward slope of the thatched roof and the verticality of the boy carrying the
buckets of milk.
Eric Turquin presents a work by:
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788)
LANDSCAPE WITH DAIRY FARMER AND COWS IN FRONT OF A COUNTRY HOUSE
This piece will go on sale on Sunday May 8 at the Hôtel des Ventes.
Landscape with farmer, milkmaid, and cows before a Country home
Canvas
56x110 inch
Provenance: Lawrie, 1898; acquired by the latter from RW Hudson,
1902; through descent, private collection, Monte Carlo
Exhibits:
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
-AB 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;
-EK Waterhouse, Thomas Gainsborough, 1953, no. 905;
-John Hayes, The Landscape Paintings of Thomas Gainsborough, London, 1982, vol. 2, p. 457, No.111 (repr.p.458).
Hayes dates this painting to circa 1772-1774, at the end of Gainsborough's sojourn in Bath (1759-1774) right before his second stint in London. This period would give rise to some of Gainsborough's finest, most untouched landscapes (Philadelphia Museum of Art; Iveagh Bequest – Kenwood, London; Tate Gallery, London; Cincinnati Art Museum; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven).
Gainsborough gained great satisfaction from landscape painting. This applies to both background landscapes in his portraits, which cemented his reputation and wealth, and pure landscapes. Indeed, Gainsborough is one of the first native painters of English countryside landscapes. During a first spell in the English capital from 1740, he was seemingly conferred a special status as a landscape painter, particularly through drawings of his homeland, Suffolk. Then, in 1748, Gainsborough's talent was amply recognized by a certain William Hogarth who commissioned him to paint the Charterhouse of the Foundling Hospital (Thomas Coram Foundation). His portraits do not necessarily spotlight the topography.
Rather, they illustrate a poetic sensitivity in the depiction of scenes with a nod to seventeenth century Dutch painters, Jacob van Ruisdael and Jan Wijnants through his earlier works. Gainsborough also offers perspective on the works of Albert Cuyp, Teniers, and Claude Lorrain, with the striking group positioning of the four cows coupled with the focus on the shepherdess milking them.
The subsequent period would see the Dutch realism influence be compromised for the more dramatic and imaginative style of Peter Paul Rubens. With a lighter palette and a freer, more spirited touch, this technique resembles that of landscape painter – Jean-Honoré Fragonard – some years later.
The work in question is a faithful representation of eighteenth century 'Rococo' style. The painting has a more decorative finish with its dynamic composition split by an upward diagonal. To the right of the canvas, a sweeping, silvery sky punctuated by stirrings of light juxtaposed with animals, two figures, and a cottage positioned in the background to the left. Gainsborough's nuanced and intelligent approach to his art is reflected in the diagonal.
The latter is slightly staggered by the tree trunk whilst also being subverted by the thatched roof and the boy stood upright carrying milk buckets
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