Landscape with Buildings by a Stream
1782/86
Medium
Charcoal and red chalk, heightened with white chalk, on gray-brown laid paper, laid down on gray-brown laid paper
Dimensions
40 × 55 cm (15 3/4 × 21 11/16 in.)
Classification
chalk
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
7622
Art Historical Context
Thomas Gainsborough's *Landscape with Buildings by a Stream* (ca. 1782–86) captures the artist's lifelong passion for the English countryside in a masterful drawing from his late career. Created just before his death in 1788, this work showcases Gainsborough's Rococo-influenced style, with its fluid lines and atmospheric depth, evoking the Romantic spirit that would soon dominate art. The scene likely depicts a serene rural idyll—humble buildings nestled by a winding stream—reflecting his nostalgia for nature amid the encroaching urbanization of 18th-century Britain. Executed in charcoal and ...
About the Artist
Thomas Gainsborough · 1727–1788
Thomas Gainsborough was born on 14 May 1727 in Sudbury, Suffolk, the youngest of nine children to wool dealer John Gainsborough and his wife Mary. Demonstrating prodigious talent from childhood, he sketched landscapes in the local woods and fields, fostering his lifelong passion for the genre. At age thirteen, he moved to London, where he trained under the French engraver and illustrator Hubert-Fr...