Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir James Hodges 1765
Summary
This is an official portrait of Sir James Hodges in his official role as Town Clerk and Deputy Chamberlain of the City of London. His robes are worn over a claret-coloured velvet suit with lace ruffles. On his head he wears a powdered bob-wig. The pose adopted by Hodges is common in Reynolds's portraits of men in public office, one hand resting on a table strewn with official papers, the other grasping an official looking document. There are countless variations on this theme in Western Art, an attitude derived ultimately from Italian Renaissance portraiture, where it was reserved for scholarly, patriarchal figures… (read more)
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Sir Joshua Reynolds
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