Did you know that the V&A holds in its collections over 2000 British and European oil paintings? They include works by several influential artists, including the renowned 18th century painter Thomas Gainsborough, who was born on this day in 1727.
The Painter’s Two Daughters, oil painting, by Thomas Gainsborough, about 1758. Museum no. F.9. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Gainsborough built his career as a painter of fashionable portraits, such as this example of John Purling (1727-1801), who was an MP and director of the East India Company.
John Purling (1727-1801), Oil Painting, by Thomas Gainsborough, about 1770 – 1780. Museum no P.28-1970. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
But despite his success as a portrait painter, Gainsborough preferred to paint landscapes. In the 1780s, towards the end of his life, Gainsborough made a series of landscapes, in oil on glass, to be viewed in a specially constructed ‘showbox’. He used these transparencies as an aid for planning larger compositions and for exploring different effects of lighting.
Thomas Gainsborough’s showbox on display in Room 88. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
A contemporary witness described the working of the showbox: ‘The machine consists of a number of glass planes, which are moveable, and were painted by himself [Gainsborough], of various subjects, chiefly landscapes. They are lighted by candles at the back, and are viewered through a magnifying lens, by which means the effect produced is truly captivating, especially the moonlight pieces, which exhibit the most perfect resemblance of nature.’
Coastal Scene with Sailing and Rowing Boats and Figures on Shore, oil painting, Thomas Gainsborough, about 1783, transparent oil on glass. Museum no. P.41-1955. John Purling (1727-1801)
Gainsborough’s showbox and a number of his transparencies can be found in Room 88 of the Museum. You can also discover more of Gainsborough’s works through Search the Collections.
With reference to Gainsborough’s showbox, I have been reading the letters of Lady Luxborough to William Shenstone, exchanging ideas about their respective gardens in the 1740s and 50s. In a letter of 1748 she mentions ‘an optical glass which I have lately purchased’ in which she can see pictures of London and the landscape garden at Stowe (which she says she had never visited). She admits that she would not put pictures of Shenstone’s garden at the Leasowes into her ‘show box’ without pain, as it would remind her of the lost pleasure of her visit there. The mention of an optical glass suggests to me that she would have been looking through a lens. It seems that such boxes were freely on sale, presumably with pictures to go into them, whether or not on glass. Would this have been the equivalent of Gainsborough’s box, or something else?