Gainsborough Robert Andrew and his Wife
Artist: Thomas Gainsborough (English b. 1727 d. 1788)
Date: 1748-1750
Dimensions: 27.5” x 47”
Medium: oil on canvas
Current location: The National Gallery, London
Period: Rococo
Genre: portraiture

Quick Notes:
  • The painting is full of details symbolic of Robert Andrews’ status as land-owning
    gentleman. His rifle denotes that he was legally permitted to hunt; a privilege of the
    upper classes. His pretty wife, dog, and farmland all present him as a man of means.
  • Compare Robert Andrews’ pose to the Portrait of Charles I Hunting by Anthony van
    Dyck. Van Dyck was an important influence on the English painters of the 18th century.
  • Dutch landscapes of the Baroque period influenced Gainsborough’s background in this
    piece. Jacob van Ruisdael in particular was an important antecedent in his depiction of
    cloudy skies and yellow fields of grain.

Suggested Compare-Contrast Target:
  • Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride


Writing Prompts:
  • Why did the artist choose to place the two figures so asymmetrically? Why aren't they in
    the center of the composition?
  • How does the height of the horizon affect our understanding of the painting?



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