Gainsborough's Secret Tissot's Muse Victorian Values At The Piano Sale 6520, Lot 12 Thomas Gainsborough, R.A. (1727-1788) A group of four landscape drawings Pen and ink and colored chalks, watercolor, bodycolor and oil, varnished Estimate: £250,000-350,000 Gainsborough's Secret Four drawings demonstrate Gainsborough's unique drawing technique. By Alison Adnitt Gainsborough experimented in the 1770s with techniques that greatly enhanced the pictorial quality of his work on paper. The 1772 Royal Academy exhibition's catalogue explained that he was exhibiting drawings 'in imitation of oil painting'. The new depth and weight of his drawing style reflected a common desire among contemporary watercolorists to elevate the status of their work. However, Gainsborough's technique was exceptionally innovative. Reunited here is a set of four such drawings, in remarkable condition, formerly in the collection of Frances, 1st Baron Northbrook. A certain mystique surrounds their technique. Describing 'my secret of making those studies' Gainsborough wrote in 1773 in great depth about how he would dip his paper in skimmed milk to adhere the white chalk to it, building up layers of chalk and color, after which he would `float it all over with Gum' (varnish). 'Float' is an apt description. When one examines the present drawings, the chalk does indeed appear to be suspended in space with a freshness that suggests it was drawn only yesterday. As Horace Walpole once observed, the surface of the drawing appears `neat, like needlework'. In the 1770s, influenced by the Dutch school and artists such as David Teniers, Gainsborough depicted village scenes for the first time, moving away from the rococo pastorals of the 1760s. His mature style offered a certain harmony of figure and setting, combining a heavier palette with a stronger sense of mass and tonal value. As holders of the world auction record for a drawing by Thomas Gainsborough, Christie's has a long history of selling the very best works by the artist. These are four of the artist's most spectacular landscape drawings to have come on the market for many years. Alison Adnitt is a Specialist in the British Art Department, London. Inquiries: Harriet Drummond Tel: +44 (0)20 7389 2278 Back to top