History of English painting
The 18th century is known for a great intellectual movement, the Enlightenment, which was born following the idea of human reason against ignorance and tyranny for a more advanced society and, in simple terms, better. This movement was the precursor of great advances such as the Industrial Revolution, but also the trigger for different revolts such as the French Revolution. It was a stage of change for society and with a complex political climate, in which cities and bourgeois society were developed in addition to a new social class, the proletariat.
This idea of improvement, which criticized the above and looked towards the future, directly influenced art, forming in the current concept of art history, royal academies and halls, art trade, and partially freeing the artist of power to betried to exercise on him. In this important century there are two figures that developed British art: Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough.
Sir Joshua Reynolds was born in Plympton and after feeling attracted to painting he moved to London to be a disciple of Thomas Hudson, although he also traveled through Europe. For his talent as a portraitist, an area in which he focused his work, he soon became a very famous and quoted painter, becoming the president of the Royal Academy, first painter of the king and even appointed gentleman.
His portraits were mainly feminine, whether women or girls, and they were idealized portraits more than realistic. In the portrait of Lady Jane Halliday you can see how she tries to add drama and create a story. The woman is embodied in the middle of the painting, highlighted by the use of light, and can be seen how the effect of the wind on the young woman’s clothes and hair, in addition to the landscape after her, darker and uprooted bytime. It is not limited to a flat or simple background, but seeks to add a landscape to history, because I preferred that style to the portrait.
On the other hand, Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, and his parents decided to send you to London to study for their talent with painting. His painting was influenced by the flamenco, and after becoming a recognized portraitist he came to capture the royal family, in addition to being the founder of the Royal Academy. Gainsborough created several portraits of their daughters, and in them both young women are the main element, highlighted by the use of light and chiaroscuro. The background is responsible for completing the work, but does not contribute a story. However, the use of colors and brushstrokes highlights the main figures of the work. Both young women are portrayed in detail, being able to see through their expressions, being able to read them, something opposed to the idealization of Reynolds that could dehumanize in any of their works.
Gainsborough’s life and Reynolds were not so different;Both were recognized for their portraits, both studied in London and worked for the royal family, and both were important figures for the Royal Academy. However, Gainsborough decided. Gainsborough, despite having several portraits of women, specifically their daughters, did not focus only on them, and something that both share is the love for the landscape and the incorporation of this element in their portraits. Reynolds came to travel, something that Gainsborough avoided, focusing on the known English landscape. Both figures were a great contribution to English painting, specifically to the portrait, and despite being known as rivals, their paintings inflated each other.
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