Paintings
Cottage Door
1 of 2
A mother and her children are nestled beneath overhanging trees in a genteel fantasy of rural living. This painting represents Gainsborough’s imaginative ideal of a simpler way of life. The artist’s periodic visits to the English countryside inspired several renditions of this theme, all of which document Gainsborough’s conception of the countryside as
an idyllic place evoking a sense of tranquility and simplicity, where life could be enjoyed fully. It was after the artist moved from Bath to London—when his distance from the countryside was greatest and the pressure to produce portraits became most intense—
that Gainsborough became deeply engaged in this theme as a way to express the pleasurable sensations that he associated with rural life and domesticity.
an idyllic place evoking a sense of tranquility and simplicity, where life could be enjoyed fully. It was after the artist moved from Bath to London—when his distance from the countryside was greatest and the pressure to produce portraits became most intense—
that Gainsborough became deeply engaged in this theme as a way to express the pleasurable sensations that he associated with rural life and domesticity.
