Fancy pictures
Encyclopedia
Fancies was a term coined in 1737 by the art critic and historian George Vertue
to describe genre scenes that also incorporated invented or imagined elements, or a storyline. He invented in to describe the paintings of Philip Mercier
, such as Venetian Girl at a Window or the series The Five Senses. The extended term for the same sub-genre, fancy pictures was invented by Joshua Reynolds
to describe paintings with beggar or peasant children produced by Thomas Gainsborough
in his final decades.
George Vertue
George Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.-Life:...
to describe genre scenes that also incorporated invented or imagined elements, or a storyline. He invented in to describe the paintings of Philip Mercier
Philip Mercier
Philip Mercier was a portraitist active in England.Painter of portraits and a pioneer in England of conversation piece and ‘fancy pictures’; an important figure in the introduction of French taste into England.-Life:Born in France to a tapestry worker of French Huguenot stock working for the...
, such as Venetian Girl at a Window or the series The Five Senses. The extended term for the same sub-genre, fancy pictures was invented by Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
to describe paintings with beggar or peasant children produced by Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
in his final decades.