Imaginary Landscape, c1880-1920 (oil on paper on canvas)

Landscape scenes like this one are based on Gainsborough’s observation of the countryside in his native Suffolk and in Somerset, where he later settled. However, the artist here amplified the woods and rocks to the degree that they take on a monumental and fanciful quality of their own. The composition of this imaginary landscape relates to drawings Gainsborough made in the 1770s and 1780s. However, its attribution has been questioned due to the presence of cobalt blue in the sky. This pigment first appeared two decades after Gainsborough’s death. It is therefore likely that a follower reworked a drawing by Gainsborough by adding oil paint in order to turn it into an object for display.