Question

Thomas Gainsborough, The Blue Boy, oil on canvas, ca. 1770; portrait is supposed to have been conceived as a demonstration piece for the Royal Academy (GB); controversy that pitched Gainsborough against the president of the RA, Joshua Reynolds.

A) Rococo Style
B) Neoclassical Style
C) Romantic Style
D) Academic Style

Answer 1

Thomas Gainsborough's 'The Blue Boy' is recognized as embodying the Rococo style, which features a playful and elaborate approach distinct from the more severe Neoclassical style associated with Joshua Reynolds and the Royal Academy.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomas Gainsborough's painting The Blue Boy is generally regarded as an example of Rococo style, in which the artist beautifully integrates portraiture with landscape. Gainsborough is known for his softer and more reserved adaptation of the Rococo style. Notably, Gainsborough had a dispute with Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy, which may underline a contrast in artistic philosophies prevalent in the era, given Reynolds's association with the promotion of the Grand Style or academic painting, which related to Neo-classical ideals. However, it is Gainsborough's portrait The Blue Boy that embodies the more playful and ornate qualities of the Rococo movement over the stringent and moralizing attributes of the Neoclassical style.