1793
oil
panel
From the collection of Fitzwilliam Museum
Buying Fish is a 1793 oil by George Morland, held at Fitzwilliam Museum.
This painting depicts a scene of a woman in a white dress, sitting on a horse, and holding a basket. A man, dressed in dark clothing, stands beside her, looking down at a fish on the ground. The horse is white, and there is a dog standing next to it. The background features a rocky cliffside, a body of water, and a cloudy sky. In the foreground, the woman's dress and the horse's coat are rendered in soft, feathery brushstrokes, while the rocky cliffside is depicted in darker, more muted tones. The overall effect is one of quiet intimacy, as if the viewer has stumbled upon a private moment. The artist's use of chiaroscuro creates a sense of depth and dimensionality, drawing the viewer's eye into the scene. To learn more about this technique, look up chiaroscuro.
George Morland (26 June 1763 – 29 October 1804) was an English painter. His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, but after the 1790s he came into his own style. His best compositions focus on rustic scenes:…
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