View near the village of Kornard by Thomas Gainsborough

Very simple and very spiritual landscape. The hillocks, overgrown with vegetation, old twisted from time, trees, a small meandering river, a road that goes into the distance, to where the threatening sky converges with the earth. The cows, the sheep, who came to the watering place, the peasant with the donkey indicate the proximity to the village.

It seems that this place is a meeting of local boys and girls. Here is a young man, perhaps a shepherd, sitting, waiting for his cows to get drunk. A girl is standing next to him, talking to him. Or maybe it was not a date, but the girl walked past and stopped to chat. A little further away – another couple – here the girl sits on the grass, turning away from the young man with the donkey, but clearly listening to him. The whole picture is full of tranquility, silence…

Perhaps it’s a calm before the storm? The very alarming sky, the rain is about to pour, and is it not time for everyone to hurry up to the shelter? As always with Gainsborough, the calm, unassuming coloring of the painting is sustained in soft, almost pastel colors.