Portrait of passion: Thomas Gainsborough's Mrs Mary Robinson: Perdita

Mary Robinson was an ex-lover of the Prince of Wales, the future George IV, who commissioned this painting in 1781. He’d fallen for Mary Robinson after seeing her play Perdita in The Winter’s Tale at Drury Lane. This is Gainsborough’s masterpiece. He gives Perdita a ravishing presence. Her romantic beauty is electrically set off by the misty English landscape. Her loyal dog seems hypnotised by her character and sensuality – as does Gainsborough. This is a great portrait, suffused with passion
Illustration: Photograph: By kind permission of the Trustees of the Wallace Collection, London