Thomas Gainsborough
Biografie1727 - 1788
Uber den Künstler
Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) was one of the great masters of 18th century painting in Britain, renowned for his portraits. He was born in 1727 in Sudbury and the son of a cloth merchant. He showed an early talent for drawing at an early age. When he was 13 he was sent to London to study at an academy in St. Martin's Lane under the renowned William Hogarth and other masters known for etching, historical painting and portraiture.
About 1749, Gainsborough returned to Suffolk, where he lived and worked for a decade. His portraits were mainly of local gentry and merchants. In 1746, he married Margaret Burr and they had two daughters. In 1759 Gainsborough moved to the fashionable spa town of Bath. His clients were now authors, actors and members of high society. In 1768, he was elected a founder member of the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1774, he moved to London, settling in Schomberg House on Pall Mall where he set up a studio in the garden. In 1780, he was commissioned to paint portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte. Gainsborough became a royal favorite, competing with the official court painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1784, Gainsborough quarreled with the Royal Academy over the hanging of his pictures. He withdrew them and from then on exhibited his pictures in his own studio. Gainsborough claimed to prefer painting landscapes to portraits, but the latter were much more lucrative and it is for portraits such as 'Mr and Mrs Andrews', 'The Blue Boy' and 'The Morning Walk' that he is most famous. Thomas Gainsborough died in 1788, at the age of 61. He was buried at St. Anne's Church at Kew, which was the royal family's primary residence.
About 1749, Gainsborough returned to Suffolk, where he lived and worked for a decade. His portraits were mainly of local gentry and merchants. In 1746, he married Margaret Burr and they had two daughters. In 1759 Gainsborough moved to the fashionable spa town of Bath. His clients were now authors, actors and members of high society. In 1768, he was elected a founder member of the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1774, he moved to London, settling in Schomberg House on Pall Mall where he set up a studio in the garden. In 1780, he was commissioned to paint portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte. Gainsborough became a royal favorite, competing with the official court painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1784, Gainsborough quarreled with the Royal Academy over the hanging of his pictures. He withdrew them and from then on exhibited his pictures in his own studio. Gainsborough claimed to prefer painting landscapes to portraits, but the latter were much more lucrative and it is for portraits such as 'Mr and Mrs Andrews', 'The Blue Boy' and 'The Morning Walk' that he is most famous. Thomas Gainsborough died in 1788, at the age of 61. He was buried at St. Anne's Church at Kew, which was the royal family's primary residence.
