AN 18TH CENTURY ENGLISH BOY IN A LANDSCAPE - GEORGE MORLAND (1763-1804)
A fine 18th century English study of a country boy in an extensive landscape by the celebrated artist George Morland. The young sitter pauses for respite on a grassy hillock, under the shade of a tree with flower strewn roots.
He wears the traditional attire of country folk of the period, this includes a scarlet waistcoat and white shirt, worn under a buff jacket and matching trousers. Atop his head is a wide brimmed straw hat with ragged edges.
Points of particular interest in this painting are the subtle and pleasing colour palette as well as the lively and economic brushstrokes of a talented artist. They help to make this diminutive work a sensitive snapshot of bucolic bliss in 18th century England.
This charming study is presented in an excellent state of conservation and is ready to hang and enjoy in its antique frame with mellow gilding.
George Morland (1763 - 1804). Morland was a British painter and practitioner of the animalier style who specialised in charming depictions of rural landscapes. Born on June 26, 1763 in London, England, the artist’s early life was tumultuous, with controversial accounts of his father imprisoning his son to produce forgeries of Dutch and Flemish paintings for his profit, only to be exploited further by an art dealer when he escaped his father’s home.
Morland began to draw at the age of three years, and at the age of ten (1773) his name appears as an honorary exhibitor of sketches at the Royal Academy. He continued to exhibit at the Free Society in 1775 and 1776, and at the Society of Artists in 1777, and then again at the Royal Academy in 1778, 1779 and 1780
When he eventually achieved artistic autonomy, Morland's artistic career was characterized by his prolific creation of landscape and animal paintings of English rural life, executed with attention to detail in a naturalist style representative of English painting at the time.
He enjoyed significant success in his later life, and was well known in London for his debaucherous parties and wild lifestyle. His career was cut short by his arrest for debt and the subsequent loss of use of his left hand due to palsy, which he contracted in prison. Despite this, he painted right up until his death in London, England on October 27, 1804 at the age of 41.
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Canvas : 12” x 8.5” / 31.5cm x 22cm. Framed : 17” x 13” / 44cm x 33cm.
Price: £2250