English Painting and Art Galleries

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His portraits are painted in clear tones in which blue and gray predominate. One of his best pictures is the famous “Blue boy”. His other masterpiece is “The Portrait of Duchess de Befou”.

We can see a young noble woman, her charming face is full of freshness and lifeness. The charm of the expression of her face and the coloring are characteristic for the artists style. Her calm pose, the elegance of her gesture of her hand stresses her nobility. Outwardly we may see that in this portrait Gainsbourough followed the rules of traditional ceremonial portraits. But it is not so. The partied lips of the woman, a timid gesture of her hand help to create a true impression of the sitter.

The artist has a wonderful sense of color, line and composition. He makes the affective use of light and shade. The picture is executed mostly in light tones in the dark background. Numerous shades of blue prevail in the picture. The combination striking of pink shades in her face and body are contrasted with gray and blue shades on her pounded hair, dress and scurf. It makes the impression of freshness and beauty. Gainsbourough depicts the details of her dress skillfully. The woman is graceful and charming.

The picture glorifies the idea of woman's beauty. It is exhibited in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

Thomas Gainsbourough greatly influenced the English school of landscape painting. He was one of the first English artists who painted his native land. His delicate understanding of nature is especially felt in the pictures where he showed peasants. The best landscape of his are: “Watering Place” and “Harvest Wagon”. Both of them are exhibited in the National Gallery.

Among his other landscapes are: “The Sunset”, “The Market Card” and “The Cottage Door”. His great love for the countryside and his ability to show it made him an innovator in this field. He was the first English artist who painted his native countryside so sincerely.

Thomas Lawrence (1768 - 1839) was the painter of kings, princes, great diplomats and generals. All these are presented in large, full-dressed portraits, painted with elegance. His portrait of Vorontsov (1821) is an example of the brilliant official portrait. The portrait presents a young general, a brilliant man of fashion but it doesn't characterize his nature

Landscape is another glory of English art because in it English art also rose to supreme highs. John Constable (1776 - 1837) is one of the most outstanding painters, who developed his own style of painting. He considered sketch, made directly from nature, the first task of a landscape painter. He introduced green into his painting: the green of trees, the green of summer, all the greens which until then other painters had refused to see. He made quick sketches based on his first impressions of natural beauties. John Constable used broken touches of color. His work is important as the beginning of the impressionist school.

He was a son of a wealthy miller. He began to take interest in landscape painting while he was at Dedham grammar school. His father didn't favor art as the profession and Constable as a boy worked almost secretly, painting in the cottage of the local plumber, who was an amateur painter by nature himself. Constable left school to work for his fathers business. During his spare time he studied painting. His keen artistic interest was so strong that his father allowed him to visit London where he began to study sketching. After 2 years in London he returned to his fathers business for a year. The year spent at his fathers mill was a great importance for him. He learned to watch the sky with the exactness of a miller, to note the direction of the wind, the significance of the clouds. In 1799 Constable entered the Royal Academy school in London.

Реферат опубликован: 31/01/2009