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Which Dutch landscape painters influenced Thomas Gainsborough’s early work?
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Thomas Gainsborough learned the language of landscape painting from 17th-century Dutch artists, whose works were increasingly popular among English collectors by 1740.1
His early landscapes were primarily influenced by Jan Wynants, from whom he drew many details directly, such as in his 1745 work Bumper—A Bull Terrier. By 1748, however, Jacob van Ruisdael had become the predominant influence on his style, as seen in his painting Cornard Wood.1