Unknown drawings of Gainsborough showed up at Windsor castle
An album of drawings by one of the greatest painters of the XVIII century, Thomas Gainsborough was discovered in the Royal collection at Windsor castle.
The album was kept in the collection with Victorian times, but the drawings were wrongly atributiruemy another artist, sir Edwin Landser.
Only recently, a historian Lindsay Stainton carefully studied 25 black-and-white drawings, has confirmed that this early work of Gainsborough.
“It’s just a delight, said Stanton in interview Bi-si-si — because we have found the best collection of the earliest drawings of Gainsborough”.
In the drawings there are trees, ponds, forest trails, sandy beaches and livestock.
“He was literally obsessed with nature, explains Stanton, nature was his teacher and the woods of Suffolk his Academy”.
Drawings of 1874 were stored in a large blue album with a leather cover in a vault at Windsor castle.
They are always attributed to another English artist, Landero, who was famous for his bronze sculptures of lions in Trafalgar square.
When Stanton began to study the pictures, she was quickly convinced of the authorship of Gainsborough.
Comparing them with other works of the artist, she discovered surprising similarities in the manner of writing.
“I had no choice but to conclude that it is Gainsborough,” says the historian.
But the final confirmation was early sketch of the famous painting “Kornatsky forest” or “Forest Gainsborough”, as it is often called.
When applying the sketch to the finished landscape, which hangs in the National gallery, two of the “completely fused”.
Lindsay Stainton came to the conclusion that drawing is a preparatory sketch for the landscape.
“We virtually believe that it is in fact a collection of early drawings of Thomas Gainsborough, agrees curator of prints and drawings Royal library Rosie Rassol. This is an extremely important discovery. And that means we can re-evaluate the early work of Gainsborough”.
The opening was accompanied with an additional surprise. On the reverse side of one of the drawings was discovered a small portrait of a young woman.
“This portrait in the exact style of the early Gainsborough”, — explain Rassol.
But James Hamilton, who wrote a biography of the artist “Gainsborough: a portrait” (this book goes to press in July), even suggested that this portrait may indicate that the artist made his forest walk not alone.
“The girl in the portrait may well be Margaret Burr,” says Hamilton, referring to the future wife of the artist.
“In the face of in fact there are some similarities,” adds the writer.
The portraits of Gainsborough, such as “Boy in blue” and “Wife Andrews”, have become iconic works, however, according to James Hamilton, “portraits brought him the money, and the landscapes — a pleasure.”
Newly discovered early drawings of Gainsborough can be seen on the website of the Royal collection.
Rebecca Jones
Arts correspondent, BBC News.