John Plampin
- Artist: Thomas Gainsborough
- Date: probably about 1752
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "John Plampin" by Thomas Gainsborough. Painted in the mid-18th century, it's a portrait of John Plampin, aged around 25, set against the backdrop of his family's estate. The painting is thought to have been created about five years before Plampin inherited Chadacre Hall and Shimpling Manor from his father.
Plampin is seated on the ground, with his hand tucked into his waistcoat in a fashionably relaxed pose. His legs are splayed out in an unusual way, echoing the limbs of the tree behind him. This composition creates a sense of radiating spokes like a wheel, drawing our eye around the painting.
The inclusion of the landscape serves to reinforce Plampin's authority and privilege as a member of the British landed gentry. His fashionably dressed clothes - deep blue frock-coat, white satin waistcoat, and tricorn hat - also speak to his status.
In the background, you'll notice a church tower that's recognisable as All Saints in Lawshall, just two miles from Chadacre Hall. Gainsborough's use of subtle brushstrokes to suggest the landscape adds to the sense of natural beauty and Plampin's connection to it.
See it in person
John Plampin hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
