Portrait of the Molly and Peggy 1760

Thomas Gainsborough painted this double portrait of two young women, known as Molly and Peggy, in oil on canvas during the late 18th century. They’re depicted with the accoutrements of a fashionable artistic education. Gainsborough made his name as a society portraitist in Georgian England. It was a time when wealth and status were expressed through the consumption of culture. The statue of Diana and the young woman’s artistic tools are not simply props, but signifiers of a refined upbringing. It would be interesting to know whether this portrait was commissioned to celebrate the girls' achievements or to signal their family's social aspirations. The composition itself is interesting: does the statue represent an ideal of beauty that the young woman is trying to capture in her drawing, or does it suggest a certain coldness and lack of feeling? Art historians explore the meanings and intentions of art. Contemporary documents such as letters and diaries, as well as studies of the art market, can help us better understand the social forces that shaped Gainsborough’s art.