The Morning Walk Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)

Description of Thomas Gainsborough’s painting Morning Walk

The painting was created in 1785. The basis for the painting was canvas and oil. Its dimensions are astonishing, the height of the canvas is about 3.9 meters, width - 2.9 meters. What is surprising is that not only is the author known, but also the names of those portrayed on the canvas.

The central place on the canvas is taken by a young couple walking hand in hand in the company of a cheerful white dog. The heroes of the painting were real people - William Hallett and Elizabeth Stephen, the future husband and wife. At the time of writing the painting, the young people barely 21 years old, they are still very young, inexperienced and therefore innocent. The painting was created before the wedding and probably was a wedding gift.

Combining the talent of the portrait painter with the skill of landscape painting, Thomas Gainsborough depicted young lovers on the background of an ordinary forest landscape. The young man and the girl are richly dressed, their suits not at all appropriate for a long walk, but perfectly emphasize their social status and position in society.

The girl’s light dress is richly embellished with ruffles. The thinness of her waist is emphasized by the black sash. The girl’s hair is loose; according to the customs of the time, her head is covered with a wide-brimmed hat with several ostrich feathers. The young man is dressed in a black tailcoat, the floor of which he holds with his left hand. His right arm is bent at the elbow so that the lady who is walking beside him can lean on it comfortably. The young man wears a gray wig.

The gazes of the walking couple are directed somewhere to the side. With all their appearance they are trying to show that what is happening is just a normal walk, an ordinary action, which is not worth emphasizing. The white dog running next to the girl is trying to interest his owners, but he does not succeed. The gaze of the characters in the painting is obscured, they are enjoying the silence and each other.

The described desire to emphasize ordinariness is typical not only for Gainsborough’s paintings, but also for those of other artists of the period. In the 18th century this genre of portrait painting was called the "conversation piece. The National Gallery of London holds quite a few canvases painted in this genre. One of these canvases and is "Morning Walk.