By Thomas Gainsborough (UK).

Creation year 1770

Category canvas oil painting

Rococo style

Theme portrait

Specification 122cm× 178cm

Cloth oil paint

The boy in blue, now in Huntington Library in Los Angeles, was drawn against the theoretical prejudice of Reynolds, the first president of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at that time. After the age of 33, thomas gainsborough's reputation in portrait painting has been well-known at home and abroad, and art lovers in London are looking for him to paint portraits. Reynolds, who was promoted to dean from 65438 to 0768, was also an outstanding portrait painter. Seeing the great success of Thomas gainsborough's portrait painting art, he was jealous and often spoke ill of himself. Therefore, Reynolds, who lived in London, and Thomas gainsborough, who insisted on living in Bath, formed two opposing factions, and they belittled each other. On one occasion, Reynolds said when teaching students painting skills: "Blue can't dominate the picture". When thomas gainsborough learned about this, he showed contempt for this "regulation", so he painted the world-famous "The Boy in Blue" with a lot of blue to deny and satirize Reynolds' painting viewpoint. The Boy in Blue depicts the image of a well-dressed noble boy. In fact, the prototype of this model is not a nobleman, but the painter found the son of a rich workshop owner, and Thomas gainsborough made him dress up as a prince in a gorgeous blue dress. Thomas gainsborough vividly and lightly showed the charming demeanor of teenagers with bold and unrestrained brushstrokes, and gave full play to the light and color functions of sapphire blue. This novel and unique blue tone not only has no discomfort, but also makes people feel surprisingly successful; This lively jumping blue satin, this unpredictable clothing pattern and highlights; This unconventional blue tone forms a wonderful harmonious contrast with the subtle and changeable background of yellow, blue, green and red. The most successful place here is that the painter reproduces the texture and softness of blue satin fabric on teenagers with accurate color blocks. The style of the whole painting is fresh and smooth, and the colors are full of rhythm and introversion, which makes this painting one of the most outstanding portraits in the18th century and occupies an important page in the world art history. As described by a critic at that time, he painted portraits with an opera charm, which is a "artificially processed reality".

Compared with the prestigious academic painter Reynolds, Thomas gainsborough is just a "celebrity in opposition". However, due to his emphasis on artistic exploration and his unrestrained and emotional personality, he never succumbed to the pressure of "authority", which made him make a breakthrough in the art road. Thomas gainsborough painted portraits of the nobles for 40 years, and was recognized as the painter laureate by the nobles. However, he is sometimes tired of painting portraits and often goes to the wild to paint landscapes, which is his second interest. In landscape painting, Thomas gainsborough's artistic achievements are obvious to all. Thomas Gainsborough (1727— 1788), a British portrait painter and landscape painter, combined the realism of Dutch painting school with the romantic sentiment of French pastoral style to create a fresh and poetic style. Most of the works depict aristocratic luxury costumes and arrogant and leisurely gestures in soft tones, which are deeply loved by the upper class. Thomas gainsborough is a talented painter who stood out in the British painting world after Hogarth in the18th century. Although he doesn't like reading very much, he hasn't even finished reading in ordinary middle schools, but he is full of witty remarks; Although he has no masterpieces, "however, judging from the letters he wrote to his close friends, few people can match his knowledge."