De lege schoot van Frances - Een onderzoek naar de leemte in het schilderij Mr and Mrs Andrews van Thomas Gainsborough
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2025-07-10
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nl
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This thesis re-examines Thomas Gainsborough’s Mr and Mrs Andrews (c. 1750), focusing on the enigmatic, unfinished area in Frances Andrews’ lap. The small, centrally located unpainted patch has prompted numerous interpretations since the painting entered the National Gallery’s collection in 1960. Art historians have proposed four principal theories: the dead pheasant theory, the reservation theory (suggesting a later addition of a baby), the broken-commission theory, and the evocation theory. Each is critically assessed through visual, iconographic, socio-historical, and technical analysis.
The first three theories are found to lack sufficient evidence and are ultimately untenable. The evocation theory — which proposes that the empty space was deliberately left blank to provoke thought or to function as a joke — is considered the most plausible. There are indications that the intended humour is ironic. Robert and Frances Andrews posed as members of the seated gentry, yet lacked noble titles or heraldic credentials. The painting is thus repositioned as a conversation piece that not only portrays the sitters, but also subtly enacts their social aspirations.
The vacant lap becomes a focal point of narrative ambiguity: a part of a private joke, possibly, and a visual site of indecision. As such, the work is interpreted as a performative construction in which the couple, in collaboration with Gainsborough, enact a social role. The thesis recommends further research into this private joke theory, understood here as a nuanced strand of the broader evocation theory.
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Faculteit der Letteren