I recently visited the MFA in Boston to view the Thomas Gainsborough exhibit. I was familiar with his English portraiture, especially that of the famous painting, "Mr. and Mrs. Andrews." I can appreciate the costumes of that era and the way in which Gainsborough executed his work. However, I was not terribly impressed. As for his portraits, I thought the proportion of his models to be anatomically incorrect. I envisioned the heads of some of his subjects to be floating, detached from thier bodies. The torsos of some of his models were flat and idealistic. It was said that although portrait painting was his mainstay, he found solace in landscape painting. In my opinion, that is where we really see his talent. I found his landscapes to be both beautiful and peaceful. It is said that Gainsborough was greatly influenced by Sir Anthony van Dyck, another British portrait painter, who lived a century before Gainsborough. In my opinion, John Singer Sargent, who lived a century after Gainsborough, is an artist far superior when speaking of portraiture. Buy Posters Here From AllPosters.com