The Dark Side of the Landscape
The Rural Poor in English Painting 1730–1840

John Barrell's 1980 study shows why the poor interested painters and how painters could represent them for the rich.

John Barrell (Author)

9780521276559, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 29 September 1983

192 pages
24.6 x 17.3 x 1 cm, 0.41 kg

'An important book.' Burlington Magazine

The eighteenth-century saw a radical change in the depiction of country life in English painting: feeling less constrained by the conventions of classical or theatrical pastoral, landscape painters attempted to offer a portrayal of what life was really like, or was thought to be like, in England; and this inevitably involved a distinct approach to the depiction of the rural poor. John Barrell's influential 1980 study shows why the poor began to be of such interest to painters, and examines the ways in which they could be represented so as to be an acceptable part of the décor of the salons of the rich. His discussion focuses on the work of three painters: Thomas Gainsborough, George Morland and John Constable. Throughout the book, Barrell draws illuminating comparisons with the literature of rural life and with the work of other painters. His terse and vigourous account has provided a landmark for social historians and literary critics, as well as historians of art.

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Thomas Gainsborough
3. George Morland
4. John Constable
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900 [ACV]