Thomas Gainsborough, Self-portrait of the artist sketching, a pencil drawing (1727/1788)British Museum
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)
Thomas Gainsborough is recognised as one of the most renowned portrait and landscape artists of 18th-century Britain. A founding member of the Royal Academy, he was also a favoured painter of King George III and Queen Charlotte.
Despite his self-proclaimed preference for painting landscapes over commissioned portraits, Gainsborough regularly captured the likenesses of himself and his family.
Portrait of the Artist with his Wife and Daughter (about 1748) by Thomas GainsboroughThe National Gallery, London
Family Portraits
During his lifetime, Gainsborough made over fifty portraits of his immediate and extended family. The earliest known painting by the artist of both himself and his family is 'Portrait of the Artist with his Wife and Daughter' (in the National Gallery Collection).
Gainsborough depicts himself next to his wife, Margaret Burr. Nestled between them is their first-born daughter Mary, who tragically did not survive infancy. This painting was probably painted in around 1748, the same year that Mary died, when Gainsborough was 20-years-old.
'The Painter's Daughters'
Gainsborough and his wife went on to have two more daughters: another Mary (born 1750) and Margaret (born 1751).
Pictured here, 'The Painter's Daughters Chasing a Butterfly' was probably the first of the six known double portraits which Gainsborough made of his daughters between about 1756 and 1770.
Gainsborough abandons the formality of some of his earlier portraits, capturing a touching moment of interaction between the two young girls - a moving insight into family life and Gainsborough's relationship with his daughters.
The Painter's Daughters chasing a Butterfly (probably about 1756) by Thomas GainsboroughThe National Gallery, London
Experimenting with a bold new style
In contrast to many of his earlier commissioned portraits, which were often smaller in scale and more formal in nature, this double portrait of the artist's daughters is almost life-sized and has a more spontaneous feeling in the way it is painted.
Painting his children meant Gainsborough could escape the demands imposed upon him by clients. He could experiment more freely with scale and paint. The paintings of his daughters are characterised by loose and expressive brushwork and contain areas that are largely unfinished.
Mary and Margaret Gainsborough
This portrait was likely painted in about 1756 when the family was living in Ipswich, England. Mary (in the yellow dress) appears to be around six-years-old here and her younger sister, Margaret (in white), is likely four or five-years-old.
Gainsborough paints his daughters running hand-in-hand through a dark wooded landscape chasing a delicate white butterfly. The butterfly is perched on a thistle at the painting's edge, as though it might escape beyond the frame of the painting, and out of reach, at any moment.
Margaret, the younger of the two sisters, seems to be mesmerised by the butterfly. With childlike innocence she instinctively reaches out with an open hand to touch the elusive insect.
Margaret seems to be unaware of the prickly thistle and the dangers which lie ahead of her. This is a scene that is more troubling than it may first appear...
Unlike her sister, Mary appears to be more aware and cautious of the thistle and her surroundings. Her gaze is slightly more hesitant and her pose more restrained. Rather than use her hand to catch the butterfly, she prepares her muslin apron as a net.
Mary also protectively clutches her younger sister's hand. Is she perhaps preventing Margaret from hurting herself on the thistle – her gesture could be read as one of tender, yet urgent, sisterly affection?
An unbreakable bond
When painting the girls together, Gainsborough always depicts Mary and Margaret holding hands or in an embrace, as seen in this later portrait of 'The Painter's Daughters with a Cat'.
The Painter's Daughters with a Cat (probably about 1760-1) by Thomas GainsboroughThe National Gallery, London
The sisters grew up together and were both taught in painting, drawing and they were both keen amateur musicians. Mary married a musician in 1780; however, this marriage was short-lived and she returned home just two years later.
Portrait of Margaret Gainsborough holding a Theorbo (about 1777) by Thomas GainsboroughThe National Gallery, London
After their father's death in 1788, the two sisters lived with their mother. Mary, suffered from mental illness and her younger sister, Margaret (pictured here), became her nurse and protector. The pair remained together until Margaret's death in 1820.
The Painter's Daughters chasing a Butterfly (probably about 1756) by Thomas GainsboroughThe National Gallery, London
Deeper meanings
While Gainsborough could not have foreseen his daughters' challenging journey into adulthood, his early portraits of them possibly portray a sense of sadness at the elusive nature of time and childhood.
This painting seems to convey the fear which Gainsborough feels for his daughters. As a father, is Gainsborough perhaps contemplating the thought that he is ultimately unable to protect his daughters from the harsh realities of time and the world around them?
While, at first, this appears to be a loving depiction of carefree youth and innocence, Gainsborough's first known double portrait of his daughters is also a moving contemplation on the fragility of childhood.
