Joshua Reynolds

Joshua Reynolds
Name	Joshua Reynolds
Caption	Mezzotint by James Watson after a self-portrait
Birth date	16 July 1723
Birth place	Plympton, Devon, Kingdom of Great Britain
Death date	23 February 1792
Death place	Leicester Square, London, Kingdom of Great Britain
Nationality	British
Field	Painting
Training	Thomas Hudson
Movement	Grand Manner
Notable works	The Age of Innocence, Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, Self-Portrait as a Deaf Man
Patrons	Earl Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire
Office	President of the Royal Academy of Arts
Term start	1768
Term end	1792

Joshua Reynolds. He was a preeminent English portrait painter and aesthetic theorist who dominated British art in the latter half of the 18th century. As the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, his influential Discourses on Art helped define the principles of the Grand Manner. His vast body of work, depicting the elite of Georgian society, secured his reputation as a foundational figure in the history of Western painting.

Early life and education

Born in Plympton, Devon, he was the son of Samuel Reynolds, a clergyman and schoolmaster. Showing early artistic promise, he was apprenticed in 1740 to the fashionable London portraitist Thomas Hudson. After completing his apprenticeship, he worked independently in London and Devon before traveling to the Mediterranean. His crucial formative period began in 1749 when he journeyed to Italy, residing chiefly in Rome and immersing himself in the study of the Old Masters, particularly Michelangelo, Raphael, and the Bolognese School.

Career and artistic development

Upon his return to London in 1752, he rapidly established a successful portrait practice, setting up a studio in Great Newport Street. His innovative synthesis of the Grand Manner with contemporary portraiture appealed to the Whig aristocracy. Key early patrons included Augustus Keppel, whose portrait commemorated their shared voyage on HMS ''Centurion''. By 1760, his reputation was such that he moved to a grand house at 47 Leicester Square, which became a hub for the city's intellectual and artistic life. His sitters encompassed the leading figures of the day, from Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith to David Garrick and Warren Hastings.

Presidency of the Royal Academy

With the foundation of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768 under the patronage of King George III, he was unanimously elected its first president. He was knighted by the king later that same year, becoming Sir Joshua Reynolds. His annual lectures to the Academy, published as the Discourses on Art, became a seminal text of art theory, advocating for the intellectual dignity of painting through the study of the Italian masters. He presided over the Academy's annual exhibitions at Somerset House, shaping the standards and professional training of artists in Britain.

Artistic style and technique

His style was characterized by a learned eclecticism, deliberately borrowing poses and motifs from Renaissance and Baroque masters to elevate his portraits. He was a master of dramatic composition and symbolic allusion, as seen in works like Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, which references the Sistine Chapel prophets. He experimented relentlessly with materials, often using unstable pigments and bitumen in search of luminous effects, which has led to conservation issues in some works. His approach stood in contrast to the more linear style of his great rival, Thomas Gainsborough.

Major works and legacy

Among his most celebrated portraits are The Age of Innocence, Lady Elizabeth Delmé and Her Children, and the ambitious group portrait The Ladies Waldegrave. His series of fifteen Discourses on Art delivered at the Royal Academy of Arts remains a cornerstone of Neoclassical art theory. His influence extended through his pupils, such as James Northcote and John Hoppner, and he profoundly impacted later artists including J. M. W. Turner and the French Academy. His vast collection of paintings, drawings, and prints was dispersed in a landmark sale after his death.

Personal life and death

He never married, and his household in Leicester Square was managed by his younger sister, Frances Reynolds. He was a founding member of The Club, a literary society that included Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, and James Boswell. In his later years, his eyesight failed, and the loss of sight in his left eye forced him to stop painting. He died at his home in Leicester Square in 1792 and was buried with great ceremony in the Crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral. A monument, created by John Flaxman, was later erected in his honor within St. Paul's Cathedral.

Category:1723 births Category:1792 deaths Category:English portrait painters Category:Presidents of the Royal Academy of Arts Category:Knights Bachelor