Edward Gardiner was Gainsborough’s nephew, and recorded to have spent time in his studio. He is depicted in this portrait at the age of around eight or nine. It is thought that the painting was created as a pendant to a portrait of the sitter’s sister Susan, at the same age.
The portrait of Edward reflects the influence of the Flemish portraitist Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) in the loose brushwork and the style of finish. The child appears to be wearing the same pale blue costume as the sitter in Gainsborough’s painting The Blue Boy (Huntington Collection, California), suggesting that this may have been a prop in the artist’s studio. This use of historic costume also makes reference to the work of Van Dyck whose work Gainsborough admired. Gainsborough’s emulation of great artists in his later work reflects growing confidence in his own abilities.
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