Imaginary Landscape
- Artist: Thomas Gainsborough
- Date: Begun in the 1770's and re-worked in the 19th century
- Medium: oil on paper on canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the Imaginary Landscape by Thomas Gainsborough. The scene pulls directly from his eye‑watering observations of the Suffolk and Somerset countryside, places he frequented and eventually called home. Gainsborough’s hand exaggerates the woods and rugged rocks, turning them into almost mythical giants that dominate the foreground.
The composition ties back to sketches he made in the 1770s and 1780s, showing a clear lineage from his earlier studies. Yet the painting’s provenance is a touch of a mystery: the sky is drenched in a cobalt blue that didn’t appear until two decades after Gainsborough died. That fact has led scholars to suspect that a 19th‑century follower revisited an original Gainsborough drawing, adding oil paint to transform it into a finished canvas for display.
It began in the 1770s, likely as a loose study, then was re‑worked later in the 19th century. The medium—oil on paper laid over canvas—adds a subtle depth, letting the painter’s brushwork breathe against the sturdy backing. This piece is a fascinating dialogue between original intent and later intervention, a conversation that the landscape itself seems to echo in every brushstroke.
See it in person
Imaginary Landscape hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
