Money, possessions, power

Men and women have been driven by the same materialistic ideals throughout history. As seen in 'Mr and Mrs Andrews', those in positions of power often commemorated this through purchasing works by famous artists to demonstrate their wealth or by commissioning portraits of themselves in their finest clothes and showing of their possessions and land.

Gainsborough's portrait is typical of the genre 'conversation pieces' - relaxed, informal portraits of a small group of people in an outdoor space, engaging in discussion and unaware of the viewer's presence. However, this is where Mr and Mrs Andrews stray from tradition as they stare directly at the viewer, acknowledging their presence. Gainsborough also positioned them to the left of the composition rather than the centre to give more space to the landscape.

John Berger suggests that the grim faces of the couple was intended by Gainsborough to make a statement about the egoïstic attitude of the wealthy. Others argue, particularly in the context of a class conscious family and society, the reason for the scornful faces was because Mrs Andrews father had helped Gainsborough's father when he went bankrupt. "In her eyes, Thomas Gainsborough was the son of a charity case. The artist knew those looks this couple were giving him and recorded them with characteristic exactness" states author William Vaughn.

The landscape is of Robert Andrews' farm, yet all the rural workers have been emitted from the landscape, only emphasising the class based system of society.

The materialistic ideals and display of wealth and power in this painting, from the expensive clothes to the vast, sprawling land, is the same as today. In the 21st century, we still live in a materialistic society where wealth and importance are desired through possessions, clothes and big name brands and so I have depicted my sisters as substitutes for Mr and Mrs Andrews in their 'finest' clothing - Nike and adidas embellished. Just like in the pieta, even though the figures have been modernised, the human condition remains the same.

I decided to keep my sisters' faces blank as they represent the ideals of society as a whole, not so much specific individuals.

I really enjoyed making this painting, form the folds and details in the clothes the the sprawling landscape made up of various greens and yellows. If this project had taken another direction, I would have focussed on the figure in the context of clothing, looking to the Old Masters depictions of cloth as I love painting folds in fabric, capturing all the shadows and changes in light.

14/01/2021

Figuration within the context of it’s found or replaced environment

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