18th Century British

An early exponent of , Joshua Reynolds was one of the great eighteenth-century English painters. He made a name for himself as a portrait painter and as an art scholar. Reynolds was a highly influential figure during his lifetime and was instrumental in elevating the social consideration and political role of the artist, which would mark the subsequent evolution of art in Britain.

From 1740 to 1743 Reynolds worked as an apprentice at the studio of Thomas Hudson (1701-1779), London’s most successful portraitist of the time. In 1749 he travelled to Italy, where he studied the ancient ruins of the Classical Age and the works of Italian masters. Back in Britain he settled in London, and his studio soon became one of the most famous in the city.

Besides the influence of Italian and the Renaissance, one could also add, particularly towards the end of his life, an inspiration from Flemish painters like Rembrandt (1606-1669) and Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).

Reynolds played a critical role in promoting an art school that, apart from being free-of-charge, would organise exhibitions by active artists. When the Royal Academy of Arts was eventually founded in 1768, he was appointed its president. From that post and through a series of Discourses on Art, Reynolds publicized his theories about good art practice. In this defence of , he argued for a return to Classical and Renaissance art, an idealised representation of nature and the need to establish a hierarchy of genres, with history painting at the top.

His production consists mostly of portraits. He received many commissions, not only because of his talent as a painter but also for his ability to ennoble the model, frequently through large-scale works in interiors evocative of the classical world and its values. These portraits are remarkable for their originality and variety, showcasing a wide repertoire of poses and props very much in tune with the taste of London’s elite.

Although his acclaim was not unanimous and he had his detractors, throughout his life he enjoyed considerable commercial success and the recognition he was after, and became a renowned figure. He had the honour of portraying and hobnobbing with the many of the greatest names in British history in the second half of the eighteenth century.

Joshua Reynolds died in 1792 and was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. His espousal of the role of art in the public and political sphere as well as his academic theories were crucial in the development of British art, exerting particular influence on artists of the stature of John Constable (1776-1837) and William Turner (1775-1851), the latter buried next to Reynolds.

In 1813 Reynolds was chosen by the British Institution for the first commemorative exhibition in its programme aimed at placing British art on a par with the best European art while at once helping to shape the taste of the wider public and to encourage young artists. The show was seen as the definitive recognition of the artist who had died only twenty years before.