Riverside Conversation - 18th Century English School

Gathered along a riverside are two fishermen turned in conversation, one of whom sits on the bank next to a bucket, while the other gestures to the other with his back facing us. The artist has brought us upon this scene right as it is happening, giving the sense that we have interrupted the conversation. Standing further back and to the left we see a herd of sheep and their shepherd, and further back on a small dock there is a man pulling something out of the water. The picturesque scene also presents a small village from a vantage point behind the fishermen. The abundance of greens and blues decrease as the river follows to the back of the painting, where we can see the silhouettes of more structures.

The influence of Dutch Golden Age landscape paintings on the British school can be clearly seen in this example, where the secular figures are amongst a village away from urbanisation. As young men of the 18th century completed Grand Tours of Europe, they broadened their international artistic knowledge and came into contact with examples of foreign landscapes. The late 18th century saw an increase in the interest of landscape painting.