The first thing that comes to mind when referring to English painting – as well as on every occasion that any of its cultural manifestations are mentioned – is its little relationship to the painting adopted in Continental Europe, and thus the great degree of deep thought that it reveals.
The paintings of Thomas Gainsborough, of the mid-XVIIIth century, are imbued with tradition on the one hand, while on the other, they are full of romantic tendencies and neoclassic virtuosity that make up a decidedly lyric theme. Landscape appears as the great “character”, even in those paintings of stories, which were the majority in the case of Gainsborough.
He was born in Sudbury in 1727, and from a young age showed a strong inclination towards drawing and painting, feeling a particular interest towards landscapes which over the years he sublimated until he was able to step aside and leave his followers, Sir Joshua Reynolds, West and Stuart, to take up painting after his style.
In 1740 the family travelled to London where the young man saw his intentions to paint – especially landscapes – start to grow. And so he began his artistic studies, and by 1748 he was a young and famous painter who sold every painting that he made.
He returned to his birthplace but the circles of London clamored for his return, which he did and there participated in the creation of the Royal Academy.
This was really an exceptional case as he was the only member of this Institution who had not formed himself as an artist in London.
He had a strong personality and after exhibiting regularly at the Exhibition Rooms of the Royal Academy, he left the Institution due to differences in the way it was managed and even refused to exhibit there for some years. Years later, he returned to the Academy as a member and again started to exhibit there.
Yet each time he exhibited fewer paintings of the landscapes he loved so well because the Royal family continually commissioned him to paint the portraits of the members of the family. Therefore Gainsborough also became famous in this type of painting, to the point of becoming an artistic rival of Reynolds.
Again due to divergences with the Academy, he left the Institution and decided to create his own atmosphere of creation and exhibition in his personal residence at Schomberg (1784). These memorable exhibitions, that were attended by the upper classes of England, were repeated year after year until his death in London in 1788. His works of art anticipated the coming of European impressionism.
