Thomas Gainsborough is definitely one of my favourite Western painters. His individual poetic and romantic style in painting enraptures me.

The world-famous artist was born in 1727 in a British town of Sudbury. He studied art in London and got fascinated by Jan van Eyck’s portraits representing graceful poses and silver tones. Although Gainsborough always thought of himself as a landscape painter, he was also famous for his charming true-to-life portraits. It was said that Gainsborough painted portraits for a living and landscapes for pleasure. He created more than 700 portraits. His annual exhibitions at the Royal Academy helped the artist acquire a national reputation.

Perhaps his most recognizable works are “The morning walk”, “Mr. and Mrs. Andrews”, “Lady in blue”,  “The blue boy” and some other paintings. These works are characterized by blurred lines, an unusual play of light and quick brush strokes. The feeling of a cloudy day in a gentle mist is wonderfully depicted in very subtle colours. I love the way the painter portrayed natural poses of people dressed in elegant costumes, their soft turns of heads and noble expressions of faces. The lightness of painting fashionable clothes with rich textures of fabric and a lot of folds is also quite eye-catching.

Gainsborough's paintings can be seen mostly in British art galleries, at the National Gallery in London and at the Hermitage in St Petersburg.