Print made by Thomas Gainsborough, 1727–1788, British
Title:
Wooded Landscape with Herdsman and Cows
Date:
1797
Materials & Techniques:
Soft-ground etching and aquatint on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 11 × 13 3/4 inches (27.9 × 34.9 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.11607
Gallery Label:
Gainsborough was an active printmaker but rarely published prints in his own lifetime. He began making private experiments with aquatint from the early 1770s, possibly with advice from Paul Sandby. This new technique was about the only method of graphic reproduction that could come close to capturing the effects of Gainsborough’s painterly draftsmanship. The plate for this print was made in the mid 1780s and is typical of the kind of rustic scenery that Gainsborough was producing at the end of his career through which he sought an immediate emotional response from the viewer. His mind invariably conjured up images of rural life whenever he fantasized about escaping the drudgery of routine work painting portraits. This impression was published by John Boydell in 1797 after Gainsborough’s death. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2011