Description
2023 is the 300th anniversary of the birth of Devonian portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). Reynolds rose in his art world to become a founder of the Royal Academy and its first President. Reynolds was a portrait painter who worked for the highest echelons of British society including the royal family. Admiring the ancients and the Old Masters, he seemed to have an endless variety in his repertoire. He made it his practice to allude to classical statuary in posing his sitters. He also “softened” the extremes of contemporary dress, putting his female sitters in classically-inspired chemises. Is it any wonder that his contemporary and rival, Thomas Gainsborough, declared “Damn him, how various he is!” We’ll look at Reynolds’ career, his classical allusions, his important Discourses for the Royal Academy (still read today) and the technical problems with his work.