Famous English Artists - Famous English artists
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was the first man to raise (1) British pictorial art (2) to a level of importance. He was born in London. His father was a schoolmaster. His early taste for drawing (3) was remarkable and after schooling normal for his day he was apprenticed (4) to a silver-plate engraver (5).
His success he attributed to hard labor, ‘I know of no such thing as genius’, he wrote - ‘genius is nothing but (6) labor and diligence (7)’.
Hogarth painted many pictures. The Marriage Contract is the first of the series of his pictures forming the famous ‘marriage a la mode’ (8). Both fathers in the picture are seated to the right. One, an Earl, with points of pride to his family tree; the other, probably an alderman of the City of London, examines the marriage settlement. The Earl’s son admires himself in the looking-glass; the alderman’s daughter trifles with her wedding ring and listens to the pleasantries of a young lawyer.
The subject of the picture is a protest against marriage for money and vanity (9). Hogarth was the first great English artist.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), the first President of the Royal Academy, was not only a 236 painter but the founder of the academic principles of a British School.
His own work was influenced by the Venetians, Titian (10) and Veronese (11). His passion for rich depth of shadows (12) was fortunate; to obtain it he used bitumen.
The third great figure, of the 18th century painting - Thomas Gainsborough (1727- 1788) - was born in 1727 in the small market town of Sudbury in Suffolk.
Gainsborough had little academic training, he learned to paint not by plodding in the studio, but by observing the actual world. Van Dyck’s graceful poses and silvery tones fascinated him and played a large part in determining the development of his skill. Perhaps the best known to-day of all Gainsborough’s portraits is the famous Blue Boy.
But curiously (13) enough it was little known in Gainsborough’s day and there is no definite information (14), about the date of the painting. It is a portrait in a Van Dyck habit (15). There is an opinion that Gainsborough painted The Blue Boy in order to establish the point which he had made in a dispute (16) with Reynolds and other painters, when he maintained (17) that the dominant (18) color in a picture should be blue. His picture The Cottage Girl with Dog and Pitcher attracted general attention (19). The picture representing a small country girl was first exhibited in 1814; the easy pose of the girl, the natural turn of her head and the expression of her face make a true to life (20) picture.
Gainsborough always thought of himself as a landscape painter, but torn away from his real love by the necessity to paint portraits in order to earn his living (21).
He was the first to introduce (22) lyrical freedom into British painting. His achievement lay in the discovery of the beauty of his native landscape.
William Hogarth was the first to raise British fine art to its proper level. He was born in London. His father was a school teacher. His early drawing ability was impressive, and after his lessons he trained as a silver engraver.
His success is hard work, “I know that there is no such thing as genius,” he wrote, “genius is nothing more than work and diligence.”
Hogarth painted many pictures. " Marriage contract" - the first of a series of paintings that makes up the famous cycle "Fashionable Marriage". In the painting, both parents are depicted on the right. One of them, an earl, proudly points out his pedigree, the other, perhaps a member of the City of London, is studying a marriage agreement. The son of a count enjoys his appearance in the mirror, the daughter of a member of the city council twirls a ring in her hands and listens to the compliments of a young lawyer.
The theme of this picture is a protest against marriage for the sake of money and arrogance. Hogarth was the first famous English artist.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy, was not only an artist, but also the founder of academic principles" British school".
His own paintings were significantly influenced by the Venetians Titian and Veronese. His fascination with the richness of shadowy contrasts was successful; to achieve this he used rock resin.
The third famous person of the 18th century. There was Thomas Gainsborough, who was born in 1727 in the small town of Sudbury in the county of Safolk.
Gainsborough did not receive a full academic education. He learned to draw not by working carefully in the studio, but by contemplating real world. The majestic poses and silvery shades in Van Dyck's paintings fascinated him and greatly influenced the further development of his skill. Apparently, the most prominent among Gainsborough’s works is the portrait “The Boy in Blue.”
Interestingly enough, this work was not widely known during Gainsborough's lifetime, so the exact date of this painting is unknown. This is a portrait in the style of Van Dyck. There is an opinion that Gainsborough painted “The Boy in Blue” in order to defend his point of view in a polemic with Van Dyck and other artists that the color blue predominates in the picture. His painting "Country Girl with a Dog and a Mug" attracted the attention of the public. The painting, depicting a little village girl, was first exhibited in 1814. The simple look of the girl, the natural movement of her head, and her facial expression made this picture realistic.
Gainsborough always considered himself a landscape painter, but was forced to abandon his real passion for landscapes and painted portraits to earn a living.
He pioneered lyrical freedom in British art. His success is based on studying the beauty of his native nature.
Vocabulary
1. to be the first man to raise - to be the first artist to raise
2. pictorial art - fine art
3. taste for drawing – inclination to draw
4. to be apprenticed - to be an assistant, a student of a master
5. engraver - engraver
6. nothing but - here: nothing more than
7. diligence - diligence
8. “marriage a la mode” - (French) series of paintings “fashionable marriage”
9. vanity - arrogance, vanity
10. Titian - Titian Vecellio (1477-1576), famous Italian artist
11. Veronese Paolo - Veronese Paolo (1528-1588), famous Italian artist
12. depth of shadows - shadow contrasts
13. curiously - interesting
14. definite information - certain information
15. in a Van Dyck habit - in the manner of Van Dyck
16. dispute - discussion
17. maintain - assert, defend
18. predominant - what prevails, dominant
19. to attract general attention - to attract general attention
20. true to life - here: life-like, realistic
21. to earn one’s living - earn a living
22. introduce - introduce
Questions
1. Who was the first English artist of the 17th-18th centuries?
2. What is the subject of Hogarth’s picture The Marriage Contract?
3. Who was the first President of the Royal Academy?
3. What pictures by Gainsborough do you know?
4. Did Gainsborough paint only portraits?
5. What is the predominant color in his pictures?
Modern English artists little known to Russian art fans. Let me introduce the paintings of the amazing artist Russ Mills ( Russ Mills) from Kingsbridge, UK. His work falls between urban fine art, street art, and contemporary graphics.
Despite his rather progressive painting technique, Russ Mills is by no means young. He was born in 1952, in Yorkshire. This is a fairly versatile and creative personality. Ras, in addition to painting, plays in the musical project “Undark” and creates multimedia installations, and also teaches at the Royal College of Art, Glasgow School of Art. By invitation he lectures at other universities in the UK and abroad.
This modern English focuses primarily on the human form, particularly faces, intertwined with elements from the animal kingdom, often reflecting the absurdity of human nature. During his long creative life, Russ Mills has worked on the graphic design of music albums of such celebrities as Nine Inch Nails, Roger Eno, Japan, Harold Budd and Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Michael Brook and The Overload. His graphic works can be used. as paintings for the interior of music clubs, bars and even offices. Their expressiveness and dynamics will perfectly highlight the interior of a room in which life is constantly in full swing.
Artists from which country made a special contribution to the development of world painting?
When asked this question, French artists are often remembered. More . And no one doubts the influence at all.
But if we take the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th, then it is important to note the merits English artists.
During this period, several bright masters worked in the country of Foggy Albion, who radically changed world art.
1. William Hogarth (1697-1764)
William Hogarth. Self-portrait. 1745 Tate British Gallery, London Hogarth lived in difficult times. At the beginning of the 18th century, bourgeois society was just emerging in England, which replaced the feudal one.
Moral values were still shaky. In all seriousness, self-interest and enrichment by any means were considered virtues. Just like in the 90s of the 20th century in Russia.
Hogarth decided not to remain silent. And he tried to open the eyes of his compatriots to the decline of moral values. With the help of paintings and engravings.
He began with a series of paintings called “Prostitute Career.” Unfortunately, the paintings have not survived. Only the engravings remain.
William Hogarth. Prostitute Career: Trapped by a Pimp. Engraving. 1732 This is a true story about a village girl, Mary, who came to the city to seek her fortune. But she fell into the clutches of an old pimp. We see this scene in the first engraving. Having become a kept woman, she spent her short life among social outcasts.
Hogarth deliberately translated his paintings into engravings in order to distribute them widely. So he tried to reach as many people as possible.
Moreover, he wanted to warn not only poor girls like Mary. But also aristocrats. Judging by his series of works “Fashionable Marriage”.
The story described in it was very typical for that time. An impoverished aristocrat marries the daughter of a wealthy merchant. But this is just a deal that does not imply a union of hearts.
The most famous painting from this series, “Tete-a-Tete,” demonstrates the emptiness of their relationship.
William Hogarth. Fashionable marriage. Tete-a-Tete. 1743 National Gallery London The wife had fun with the guests all night. And the husband only stumbled home in the morning, devastated from revelry (judging by the spot on his neck, he was already sick with syphilis). The Countess casually pulls herself up and is about to yawn. Her face shows complete indifference to her husband.
And no wonder. She started an affair on the side. The story will end sadly. The husband will find his wife in bed with her lover. And he will be stabbed with a sword in a duel. The lover will be sent to the gallows. And the Countess will commit suicide.
Hogarth was not just a cartoonist. His skill is too high. Complex and harmonious color combinations. And also incredible expressiveness. You can easily “read” his paintings, understanding what the relationships between people are.
William Hogarth. Fashionable marriage. Duel and death of the count. 1743 National Gallery London Hogarth's merits are difficult to overestimate. After all, he invented critical realism. No one before him had ever depicted so many conflicts and social dramas in painting.
Reynolds didn't reinvent the wheel. But he set very high standards for all European artists.
3. Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)
Thomas Gainsborough. Self-portrait. 1758-1759 National Portrait Gallery, London Gainsborough can rightfully be called the most famous English artist of the 18th century. He lived at the same time as Reynolds. They were rivals.
The difference between Reynolds and Gainsborough is visible to the naked eye. The first has red and gold shades; majestic, solemn images.
Gainsborough has silvery blue and olive green tones. As well as airy and intimate portraits.
Thomas Gainsborough. Portrait of a lady in blue. 1778-1782 , Saint Petersburg We see all this in the portrait “Lady in Blue”. No intensity of emotions. Just a beautiful, gentle image. To achieve this effect, Gainsborough worked with a thin brush almost 2 meters long!
Gainsborough always considered himself primarily a landscape painter. But the need to earn money forced him to paint portraits to order. Ironically, he became famous and remained in history precisely as a portrait painter.
But the artist compromised with himself. Often depicting subjects in the lap of nature. Combining a hated portrait and a beloved landscape.
Thomas Gainsborough. Portrait of Mr and Mrs Hallett (Morning Walk). 1785 National Gallery London The clients could not decide which of the two portrait painters they liked more. And aristocrats ordered portraits from both Reynolds and Gainsborough. They were too different. But in terms of the strength of the works they were not inferior to each other.
But unlike Reynolds, his opponent was also attracted simple people. With equal passion he painted both the duchess and the commoner.
Thomas Gainsborough. Girl with pigs. 1782 Private collection Reynolds exchanged his painting “Girls with Pigs” with a collector for a painting he had. Believing that this is best job his rival.
Gainsborough's works are unique in their quality. There are also unhidden brushstrokes that, from a distance, make what is happening alive and breathing.
These are smooth, shaded lines. It's as if everything happens in humid air, which is what it is in England.
And, of course, an unusual combination of portrait and landscape. All this sets Gainsborough apart from many other portrait painters of his time.
4. William Blake (1757-1827)
Thomas Phillips. Portrait of William Blake. 1807 National Portrait Gallery, London William Blake was an extraordinary person. Since childhood, he was visited by mystical visions. And when he grew up, he became an anarchist. He did not recognize laws and morality. Believing that this is how human freedom is oppressed.
He did not recognize religion either. Considering it the main restrictor of freedoms. Of course, such views were reflected in his works. “The Architect of the World” is his sharp attack on Christianity.
William Blake. Great architect. Hand-colored etching. 36 x 26 cm. 1794 British museum, London The Creator holds a compass, drawing boundaries for man. Boundaries that must not be crossed. Making our thinking limited, living within narrow boundaries.
For his contemporaries, his work was too extraordinary, so he never received recognition during his lifetime.
Some saw in his works prophecies and future upheavals. Perceiving Blake as blissful, the man is not himself.
But Blake was never officially declared crazy. He worked fruitfully all his life. And he was a jack of all trades. He was also an excellent engraver. And a brilliant illustrator. Having created incredible watercolors for " Divine Comedy» Dante.
William Blake. A whirlwind of lovers. 1824-1727 Illustration for Dante's Divine Comedy The only thing that Blake had in common with his era was the fashion for everything terrible and fabulous. After all, in England in the 19th century, romanticism and fairy-tale motifs were celebrated.
Therefore, his painting “The Spirit of the Flea” fit well into general row works of those years.
William Blake. Ghost of a flea. 1819 Tempera, gold, wood. 21 x 16 cm. Tate Britain, London Blake claimed that he saw the soul of the bloodsucker. But it was placed in a tiny flea. If this soul were to inhabit a person, a lot of blood would be shed.
Blake was clearly born before his time. His work is eerily similar to the work of the Symbolists and Surrealists of the 20th century. They remembered this master 100 years after his death. He became their idol and inspirer.
5. John Constable (1776-1837)
Ramsay Reinagle. Portrait of John Constable. 1799 National Portrait Gallery, London Despite aristocratic appearance The constable was the son of a miller. And he loved to work with his hands. He knew how to plow, build fences and fish. Maybe that's why his landscapes are devoid of pathos. They are natural and realistic.
Before him, artists painted abstract landscapes, often Italian. But Constable was writing about a specific area. A real river, a cottage and trees.
John Constable. Hay cart. 1821 National Gallery London His “Hay Wagon” is the most famous English landscape. It was this work that was once seen by the French public at the Paris Exhibition of 1824.
The young people were especially impressed. Who saw in this picture what they themselves were striving for. No academic pomposity. No ancient ruins or spectacular sunsets. But only everyday life in rural areas. Beautiful in its naturalness.
After this exhibition, Constable sold as many as 20 of his paintings in Paris. In his native England, his landscapes were almost never bought.
But unlike Gainsborough, he rarely switched to portraits to earn money. Continuing to improve specifically in landscape painting.
To do this, he studied natural phenomena from a scientific point of view. And he knew how to select shades very close to those found in nature. He was especially good at the sky, the contrasts of light and dark clouds.
John Constable. Cathedral Salisbury. View from the bishop's garden. 1826 Frick Collection, New York But Constable is famous not only for his amazingly realistic paintings. But also with my sketches.
The artist created a sketch of the same size as the future painting. Working right out in the open air. It was know-how. And it was precisely this method of work that the Impressionists would later pick up.
John Constable. Boat and stormy sky. 1824-1828 Royal Painting Collection, London But Constable often wrote completed works in the studio from these sketches. Although they were more popular with the public of that time, they were not as lively and full of movement as the sketches.
At home, the greatness of the Constable was realized only in the 20th century. To this day he is one of the most beloved artists in England. We can say that Russians treat with the same trepidation.
6. William Turner (1775-1851)
William Turner. Self-portrait. 1799 Tate British Gallery, London The English artist William Turner managed to become famous in his youth and become an academician of arts. Almost immediately he began to be called the “artist of light.” Because the sun was often present in his canvases.
If you look at the landscapes of other artists, you will rarely see the sun. It's too bright.
This brightness is difficult to portray. It hits your eyes. Distorts everything around. But Turner was not afraid of this. Drawing the sun both at its zenith and at sunset. Boldly enveloping everything around it with light.
William Turner. Port in Dieppe. 1826 Frick Collection, New York, USA But Turner, although he was an academician and valued his title, could not help but experiment. He had an extraordinary and agile mind.
Therefore, after a couple of decades, his work evolved greatly. There are fewer and fewer details in them. More and more light. More and more sensations.
One of the most famous paintings of that time is “The Last Voyage of the Brave Ship.”
Here we see a bit of allegory. Sailing ships are being replaced by steam ones. One era replaces another. The sun sets, and the month comes out to replace it (above left).
William Turner. The last voyage of the Brave ship. 1838 National Gallery London Here the sun still dominates. The sunset takes up a good half of the picture. And in subsequent works the artist reaches almost abstractionism. Exaggerating all your previous aspirations. Removing details, leaving only sensations and light.
William Turner. The morning after the flood. 1843 Tate Museum, London As you understand, the public could not appreciate such works. Queen Victoria refused to knight Turner. The reputation has been shaken. Hints of madness were increasingly heard in society.
This is the lot of all true artists. He takes too big a step forward. And the public “catch up” with him only decades, or even centuries later. This is what happened to the great Turner.
7. Pre-Raphaelites
When talking about English artists, it is difficult to ignore the Pre-Raphaelites. Moreover, in the 21st century they have become very popular.
Where did such love for these artists come from?
The Pre-Raphaelites started with lofty goals. They wanted to find a way out of the dead end of academic, too rigid painting. They are tired of writing myths and historical stories little known to the general public. We wanted to show a real, living beauty.
And the Pre-Raphaelites began to paint female images. They turned out to be very beautiful and attractive.
Just look at their red-haired beauties. As a rule, they were their lovers in real life.
The Pre-Raphaelites began to actively glorify female beauty. As a result, apart from this, there was nothing else left in them.
It began to look like staged, luxurious photographs for glossy magazines. It is precisely such images that are easy to imagine for advertising women's perfumes.
That is why the Pre-Raphaelites were so popular with people of the 21st century. In the age of glamorous, very bright advertising.
John Everett Millais. Ophelia. 1851 Tate Britain, London Despite the obvious emptiness of many works, it was these artists who stood at the origins of the development of design, which broke away from art. After all, the Pre-Raphaelites (for example, William Morris) actively worked on sketches of fabrics, wallpaper and other interior decorations.
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I hope that after this article, English artists have opened up a new side for you. It was not always only the Italians and the Dutch who influenced world art. The British also made a significant contribution.
2 - Outstanding English portrait artists
The most famous English portrait painters of the 18th century include Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. Both of them began to develop under the influence of Italian and French art and over time moved to national motifs in their work. Reynolds' painting is in many ways close to the Baroque style, while Gainsborough worked in a manner close to Rococo
Reynolds's work
Of the other three main masters English art Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, founded in 1768, was the most versatile and learned, the most self-confident and consistent. Armstrong wrote a monograph about him. When Reynolds's teacher Goodson ceased to satisfy him, he busily began copying Rembrandt's paintings. The most mature fruit of his Rembrandt studies is a youthful self-portrait with a hat in the National Portrait Gallery. Then he was drawn to Italy, where he stayed from 1749 to 1752; here he developed into a conscious eclecticist. Michelangelo became his idol. But he chose mainly Bologneses and Venetians as his leaders. He delved into the most thorough study of the colorful techniques of the old masters; he left nothing unattended; the rational basis of his art is evident everywhere. In his historical paintings he barely rises above the level of eclecticism; here, as if at the whim of the artist, Rubensian forms are combined with Titianian colors and Correggiian chiaroscuro. Typical examples of this kind are “The Holy Family” in the National Gallery, “The Temperance of Scipio” in the Hermitage, and “Hope Nourishing Love” in Bowood. His most famous mythological painting, The Snake in the Grass in the National Gallery, depicts the god of love untying a girl's "belt of beauty." An excursion into the realm of romance is a new painting for that time, striking in its horror: “Count Ugolino in the Tower of Hunger,” located in the gallery of the city of Noll, in Kent.
Rice. 237 - "Exiled Lord." Painting by Joshua Reynolds in the National Gallery in London
As a portrait painter, Reynolds combined direct observation of what he saw with a sublime, magnanimous mood, deploying on this basis all the charms of his dazzling pictorial eloquence; and although in the allegorical content and in the circumstance of other portraits he showed himself to be completely a son of his time, other portraits, for example, “The Exiled Lord” of the National Gallery, are filled with immediate, felt spiritual depth. He created a mass of truly integral natures; Especially his children's portraits breathe with rare freshness and naturalness.
Rice. 238 - "Miss Montgomery's three sisters crown the herm of Hymen." Painting by Joshua Reynolds in the National Gallery in London
Upon Reynolds' return from Italy, general attention was aroused in 1753 by his portrait of Captain Keppel, now in the collection of Lord Rosbury in London. Here for the first time they saw not a figure or a head depicted on the canvas, but a living organism. The period from 1753 to 1765 embraces the first period of the artist’s maturity. Magnificent, simple and fresh portraits belong to this time, including Kitty Fisher in the collection of the Earl of Crewe (1759) and the famous portrait of Nellie O'Brien (1763) in the Wallace Gallery, then the portrait of Pastor Laurence Sterne (1760), owned by the Marquess of Lansdowne, and actor Garrick among the figures of "Tragedy" and "Comedy", in the collection of Lord Rothschild in London.
Between 1765 and 1775 the poses of the figures in Reynolds' portraits become more calculated, the coloring more refined, the drapery more careless, the staffing more contrived. These include: "Lady Sarah Banbury sacrificing to the Graces" (1766) and "Lady Black as Juno, to whom Venus gives a girdle", belonging to Sir Henry Banbury, Mrs. Hartley, in the form of a nymph, with her son, in the form of young Bacchus , in the collection of Lord Northbrook (1772), harsh in color, somewhat false painting "Miss Montgomery's Three Sisters Crowning the Herm of Hymen" (1775) of the National Gallery, this also includes the lovely "Girl with Strawberries" (1771) in the Wallace Gallery, little Frances Crewe, walking across a field in a cloak and with a basket over her arm (1770), in the collection of the Earl of Crewe, and charming picture at Windsor Castle, depicting a little princess lying on the ground with a dog (1773).
Rice. 239 - "Girl with strawberries." Painting by Joshua Reynolds at the Wallace Gallery in London
The last sixteen years of his life are considered the most mature period of Reynolds's work. A deep understanding of the persons depicted is increasingly becoming his the most important quality. The clothes, magnificent in color, are draped again more carefully. The landscape background still retains only a secondary, purely decorative meaning. But all the details are combined into one large, harmonious whole. From a long line of masterful works, stand out is a fresh portrait of little Crewe (1775) in the collection of the Earl of Crewe, Lady Crosby dressed with amazing taste in gray and gold (1778) by Sir Charles Tennant, the magnificent “Schoolboy” (1779) in Warwick Castle, a deeply spiritual portrait Lord Thurloe (1781), owned by the Marquess of Bass, and the strikingly powerful portrait of Lord Heathfield with the Key of Gibraltar in his hand (1787) in the National Gallery. Among the best are the portraits of the great actress Miss Siddons as a tragic muse on a throne floating in the clouds, behind which personifications of dramatic passions are visible (1784), at Grosvenor House, Duchess of Devonshire with her animated daughter on her lap (1786), at Chatsworth Castle ), and the delightful "Innocent Age" - a little girl sitting in the grass with her arms folded on her chest (1790) in London's National Gallery.
Reynolds never really wanted to be himself; but nevertheless in his best works his large personality is immediately visible.
Gainsborough's creativity
Four years younger than Reynolds was his great rival Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), who surpassed him in originality and spontaneity of artistic nature. In Reynolds, one feels more of the 17th century baroque, in Gainsborough - of the 18th century rococo. For Gainsborough, about whom there are good books by Fulcher, Armstrong, Mrs. Bell and Pauli, the original old masters seemed not to exist at all. He began by painting the landscapes of his rural Suffolk homeland. Having become acquainted (after 1760) with van Dyck's paintings, he began to diligently copy them. Van Dyck became the guiding light of his art. However, he himself had a stronger sense of truth and beauty than Van Dyck. He saw English women and the English landscape with his own English eyes and depicted them with a broad, healthy brush that became lighter and more “impressionistic” over the years. His portraits usually stand in the closest relationship to the native landscape, and landscapes often unintentionally turn into a genre, or the animals in them turn from peripheral images into the main images.
The first independent period of Gainsborough's creativity (1746-1758) took place in Ipswich, among trials and experiments, carried out first by touch and gradually becoming more confident. Of the early paintings preserved in the National Gallery are a beautiful, somewhat dryly painted double portrait of his daughters, one of whom is catching a butterfly, and a beautiful landscape known as Cornard Forest, which, despite or precisely because the distribution of trees on it reminds Gobbem, remained the freshest in sense of nature of all his landscapes.
The second period of his work (1758-1774) took place in a more vibrant artistic environment and in a better living environment in Bass. Here, at first, portraits appeared so carefully, almost sweetly painted and illuminated, for example, the cleric Orpin reading the Bible in the National Gallery. The bust-length portrait of Georgiana Spencer (1762), owned by Earl Spencer in London, is distinguished by its elegant simplicity; the life-size figure of the musician Fisher in Hampton Court and the half-figure of the actor Colman in the National Gallery breathe warm life. Probably already in 1770 the famous "Blue Boy" appeared, located in Grosvenor House: an en face portrait of the young Betall, with warm tones bodies in a blue fantastic costume, against the backdrop of a landscape in a brown tone - a real miracle in the nobility of the design and in the unique colorful effect; Next to this "Blue Boy" may be placed "Pink Boy", a portrait of a boy dressed in pink satin, in the collection of Baron Ferdinand Rothschild in London.
During Gainsborough's stay in Bass, some of the most famous landscapes arose - brownish in tone, closed in their unity, warmed by the marvelous light of a part of the wooded English nature. Among the most beautiful of them are the "Cart" and "Cattle Watering" in the National Gallery.
Rice. 241 - "Cattle watering place." Painting by Thomas Gainsborough in the National Gallery in London.
Gainsborough moved to London in 1774. Only here did his talent develop to the highest artistic freedom and virtuosity. Delicate, rather cold, elegantly chosen colors of the figures and their clothes are more and more harmoniously consistent with the background. His brush becomes lighter, freer and wider. He painted portraits of King George III, Queen Charlotte and their children countless times. Most of them can be seen at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. Of Gainsborough's most famous portraits of ladies, the portrait of Mrs. Graham, dressed in a red dress and somewhat awkwardly placed at a high column in the Edinburgh gallery, belongs to the early London years. The full measure of his talent is expressed by portraits of the actress Mrs. Robinson ("Perdita") in the Wallace Gallery, Mrs. Sheridan (née Eliza Linley) in the collection of Lord Rothschild, Lady Sheffield by Ferdinand Rothschild and Mrs. Beaufoy by Alfred Rothschild in London - all individual figures in full size , standing against the background of a landscape with a park, but the most famous of all is the portrait of the actress Mrs. Siddons in the National Gallery. The same Siddons, whom Reynolds portrayed as a tragic muse, sits at Gainsborough's in an elegant evening dress, in a large hat, in front of a red drapery. To the best male portraits Gainsborough owns a portrait of Ralph Schomberg in a yellowish-red suit in the National Gallery.
A large portrait group of the Bailly family, in the same gallery, dates back to the last period of Gainsborough's activity. The poses of the figures are forced and deliberate, but the enchanting colors of this picture and the airy, light writing give it high pictorial merit. Excellent as a landscape is the not very large oval painting at Windsor Castle, representing the “Morning Walk” of the Duke of Cumberland and his wife. The excellent “Picnic” at St. James’s Park, owned by Sir Algernon Nield, which is reminiscent of both Watteau and Monet, has a completely landscape character. A worthy place alongside this picture is occupied by the magnificent marina at Grosvenor House. Landscape painting always remained Gainsborough's secret love.
Other English portrait painters
The fifth in the line of these pioneers of English painting was George Romney (1734-1802), a detailed description of whom is given in the two-volume work of Ward and Roberts. They began to rank him among the great masters only very recently. Returning in 1775 from Rome, where he had absorbed false classical views, he became, however, a portrait painter in London and competed with Reynolds and Gainsborough for the favor of clients. In his portraits one can easily recognize the grandson of classicism both in the plasticity of the figures and in the drawing. He was, moreover, the best portrayal of the “beautiful Englishwoman,” as we are accustomed to imagining her, healthy and at the same time languid. His portraits are painted clearly and firmly, but by no means angular or dry. With clear local tones, they are distinguished by a refined, at times, however, somewhat reddish tint.
The London National Gallery has eight paintings by Romney, but none of his real masterpieces, such as Lord Gower's Children Dancing Hands in the Duke of Sutherland's Collection, or the portrait of Mrs. Ressel and her Child in Sir George Ressel's in London. Its pseudo-classical basis is evident in the group of Lady Warwick with her Children and in Lord Warwick's Miss Vernon as Hebe, as well as in the portrait of Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante in the National Gallery.
Rice. 243 - "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante." Painting by George Romney in the National Gallery in London.
The most important British portrait painter of the younger generation of artists to emerge in the second half of the century was the Scotsman Sir Henry Rayburn (1756-1828), who visited Italy before settling in Edinburgh. Rayburn's biographer Armstrong attributes his main quality mainly to the impression made on him in Rome by Velazquez's Innocent X. In spontaneity, freshness and breadth of concept, in the captivating warmth and liveliness of tones and colors, only a few can equal him. His best works include in the Edinburgh gallery portraits of Mrs. Campbell, John Wilson with a horse and a self-portrait of the artist, in the Edinburgh Shooting Hall a striking full-length portrait of Nathaniel Spence drawing a bow, in the Glasgow Museum a portrait of Sir John Sinclair, in the London National Gallery of a lady in straw hat, in Dresden, a portrait of Bishop Lucius O'Byrne. A feature of the times was that Rayburn moved from greater breadth and freedom of the brush to a more coherent and solid letter.
The portraits of mainly Reynolds developed the talent of London-born John Hoppner (1759-1810), a master of depicting beautiful, red-cheeked English women, whom he painted in clear and cool colors, in a fresh, loving performance. The portrait of the Countess of Oxford in the National Gallery is one of his best works. The latter are in private collections. Douglas's four children are celebrated in Lord Rothschild's collection in London.
Hoppner is immediately followed by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830), the most famous English portrait painter of the first quarter of the 19th century, although clearly emerging from the 18th century and considered representative of the decline of the great English art of this era. Vizeva again restored his artistic reputation. In his best works he appears to us as a master with keen powers of observation and refined painting technique. It is represented quite well in the National Gallery by portraits of the banker Angerstein, Princess Lieven and Philippe Sensom. Above are his images of Pope Pius VII and Cardinal Consalvi at Windsor Castle, then young Lemton, dressed in a red suit and lying stretched out on the grass, in the collection of the Earl of Durham in London, the lovely Miss Feren (Lady Dorby) walking, lightly wrapped in fur, against the backdrop of the landscape, at Pierzont Morgan in New York.
Famous English Artists
The history of the development of the world art was greatly influenced by artists from Italy, by the German, the French and the Dutch. As usual, the merits of British artists, who for the most part belong to the 18th and 19th centuries, are ignored. However, during this period, several bright representatives of the foggy Albion have come forward, their works of art deserve a place of honor in the most valuable world collections.
The first artist of English origin, William Hogarth, opened the golden age of British painting. Hogarth created the paintings in the style of realism and was a master of engraving. The characters on his canvases were servants, beggars, sailors and marginals. The artist skillfully revealed the bright joyful and deep sad emotions captured in the pictures of people.
Joshua Reynolds left a bright trace in English painting. The first president of the Royal Academy of Arts created paintings of amazing beauty. Among the heroes of the portrait, you can find fashionable prudish representatives of the nobility and ancient goddesses. Joshua Reynolds was a great theoretician of painting, his scientific works on fine art were studied by more than one generation of artists.
Reynolds" rival, Thomas Gainsborough earned his life with magnificent portraits of the nobility, but his favorite genre of painting was the landscape. The artist masterfully reflected the individuality and caught deep character traits of his characters. Throughout his artistic career, Gainsborough has constantly evolved and this aspiration for excellence can be traced through his works. At the decline of his career, his paintings can be attributed to the late impressionism.
In addition to the famous portraitists, English painting has generated a huge number of amazing landscape painters, like Sikkert, Turner, Wilson, Moreland.
Translation
The history of the development of world art was greatly influenced by artists from Italy, Germans, French and Dutch. As usual, the merits of English artists, who mostly date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, are ignored. However, during this period, several prominent representatives of Foggy Albion made themselves known, whose artistic works deserve an honorable place in the world’s most valuable collections.
The first artist of English origin, William Hogarth, ushered in the golden age of painting in Great Britain. Hogarth painted in the style of realism and was a master of engraving. The characters in his canvases were servants, beggars, sailors and outcasts. The artist skillfully revealed the bright, joyful and deep sad emotions of the people depicted in the paintings.
Joshua Reynolds left a bright mark on English painting. The first president of the Royal Academy of Arts created canvases of amazing beauty. Among the heroes of the portrait you can find fashionable, prim representatives of the nobility and ancient goddesses. Joshua Reynolds was a great theorist of painting; more than one generation of artists studied from his scientific works on fine art.
Reynolds' rival, Thomas Gainsborough, made a living by painting magnificent portraits of the nobility, but his favorite genre of painting was landscape. The artist masterfully reflected individuality and captured the deep character traits of his characters. Throughout his artistic career, Gainsborough was constantly evolving and this desire for perfection can be seen in his work. At the end of his career, his paintings can be classified as late impressionism.