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THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH

THE BLUE BOY, 1770

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About the Artwork

Blue Boy was Gainsborough’s first attempt at full length Van Dyck dress – knee breeches and a slashed doublet with a lace collar – which is based on the work of Anthony van Dyck, the 17th-century Flemish painter who had revolutionized British art. For Gainsborough, it was a way to show that he could match the elegance of the earlier court portraitist, who was as much a gentleman as his clients. Rather than a commission, it was painted for his own pleasure and as a demonstration of his abilities.

Though clearly indebted to Van Dyck, Gainsborough’s painting technique was entirely his own. Whereas Van Dyck applied color in discrete patches composed of short consecutive strokes, Gainsborough presents a chaos of erratic color and brushstrokes. The shimmering blue satin is rendered in a spectrum of minutely calibrated tints – indigo, lapis, cobalt, slate, turquoise, charcoal, and cream – that have been applied in extremely complex layers of vigorous slashes and fine strokes. At the proper distance, the diverse pigments crystallize into an illusion of solidity. Blue Boy did not seduce its first viewers with an image of a celebrity or with philosophical allusions, but with Gainsborough’s command of paint and the sheer mastery of his brushwork.

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About Our Prints

Quality
The Huntington Store Custom Prints offers exclusive custom reproductions of artworks in the collections of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Hand-made in the USA using gallery-quality materials, we create prints as true to the original work as possible, using strict color management protocols and state-of-the-art printing technology.
Selection
Many of the works offered through this store are exclusive and not available anywhere else. We are continually adding new artworks to our offering, so be sure to check back regularly as you build your own gallery. A variety of molding styles means our custom framed prints can match any type of decor.