Looking at Thomas Gainsborough's art work, Shepherd Boys with Dogs Fighting, two different feelings possessed me. The first one is a feeling of uncertainty and, perhaps, anger against the boy who is stopping the other boy from stopping the dogs fighting. The other feeling is a feeling of helplessness when looking at the boy who is trying to stop the dogs. The expressions on the boys' faces make me think that the first boy is enjoying the dogs' fight and that maybe he feels some kind of pleasure while watching, whereas the second boy's face gives the feeling of suffering for not being able to stop the dogs. The more I look at the painting, the more I discover details that lead me to relate the painting to evil and good, for instance, the use of the color tones. The boy that is stopping the other boy and the dog that is on top of the other dog, both are painted with dark colors, while the other boy and the dog that seems to be losing the fight are shown with bright colors. In my opinion, the painter did associate evil with the dark colors and good with brighter colors, which in one way could mean that evil is winning against good, between the dogs, as well as between the boys.
It is also easy to relate this painting with a religios subject because it is common to find passages in the Christian Bible that refer to the shepherd and sheep theme. One of the multiple interpretations I could give to this painting is that both the shepherds and the dogs, which are the ones that protect the sheep from the wolf, are fighting bewteen themselves instead of working together to protect the sheep from the wolf. So who is going to take care of the sheep if there are not any guardians?
I think this is a great piece of art, as it presents a well done oil painting technique, and, I imagine, the magnitude and detail characteristic of the 1700s.
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