Thomas Gainsborough character jug produced by Goldscheider Pottery of Hanley, England, circa 1955. Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterized by a light palette and easy strokes. Despite being a prolific portrait painter, Gainsborough gained greater satisfaction from his landscapes. He is credited, along with Richard Wilson, as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy. One of Gainsborough's best known works, The Blue Boy was long thought to be a portrait of Jonathan Buttall (1752-1805), the son of a wealthy hardware merchant, because of his early ownership of the painting. This identification has never been proven and as Susan Sloman argued in 2013, the likely sitter is Gainsborough's nephew, Gainsborough Dupont (1754-1797). This jug is a pair with a Blue Boy character jug.
Maker:
Goldscheider
England
circa 1955
Model #:
character jug
Size:
small
Height:
2"
