Thomas Gainsborough, Wooded Landscape with Herdsman and Cow, early 1780s, brush and black and gray wash with black and white chalks on cream laid paper, fixed with skim milk and/or gum. The Clark, 2007.8.80

Claude Lorrain and Thomas Gainsborough were known to draw landscapes en plein air—meaning that they worked outdoors, directly from the natural environment. Though both artists studied natural features for inspiration, their approach to landscapes varied considerably. Claude’s idealized drawings featured a diffuse light and airy atmosphere aligned with the sensibilities of the Italian countryside. Gainsborough observed nature through a different lens, focusing on the English countryside. Still, each artist endeavored to draw a more pleasing, idealized landscape. Claude would often add figures or trees in the foreground to create the illusion of deeper pictorial space. Gainsborough, too, would sometimes make adjustments to the observed landscape—for example, drawing a cluster of trees to one side to balance out the composition.