Sir Joshua Reynolds

1723–1792

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

View by Appointment

Biography

Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769.

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Artworks

Left Right

Sir Joshua Reynolds The Age of Innocence

?1788
Sir Joshua Reynolds Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen

1773

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir Joshua Reynolds A Child’s Portrait in Different Views: ‘Angel’s Heads’

1786–7

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir Joshua Reynolds Doctor Samuel Johnson

?1772
Sir Joshua Reynolds The Infant Samuel

c.1776
Sir Joshua Reynolds Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers

1769
Manner of Sir Joshua Reynolds A Young Black Man (?Francis Barber)

date not known

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait as a Deaf Man

c.1775

See all 45

Artist as subject

Left Right

Nathaniel Hone Sketch for ‘The Conjuror’

1775

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait as a Deaf Man

c.1775
Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait

c.1775
Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait when Young

1753–8
Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait as a Figure of Horror

c.1784

View by appointment
John Henry Foley Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A.

date not known
F. Derwent Wood [title not known]

1916
F. Derwent Wood [title not known]

1916
F. Derwent Wood [title not known]

1916

See all 20

Features

Left Right

Art Term

Fancy picture

Fancy picture refers to a type of eighteenth century painting that depict scenes of everyday life but with elements of …
Art Term

Genres

Genres are types of painting. These were codified in the seventeenth century as (in descending order of importance) history, portrait, …
Art Term

Bitumen

Bitumen is a naturally-occurring, non-drying, tarry substance used in paint mixtures, especially to enrich the appearance of dark tones
Art Term

Grand manner

Grand manner is an English term used widely from the eighteenth century to describe what was considered to be the …
Art Term

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism was a particularly pure form of classicism that emerged from about 1750
Art Term

Classicism

The term classicism is used to describe art that makes reference to ancient Greek or Roman style
Read

BP Spotlight: Bodies of Nature

Cora Gilroy-Ware

Bodies of (Human) Nature: Nymphs in British Art 1780–1840
Read

The Craze for Pastel: Essay

Ruth Kenny

Ruth Kenny's essay on The Craze for Pastel in conjunction with a 2014 BP Spotlight display at Tate Britain on …
Project

John Everett Millais's Hearts are Trumps 1872

Prior to display at Tate Britain, John Millais’s Hearts are Trumps 1872 underwent major painting and frame conservation
Tate Papers

An Alternative National Gallery: Blake’s 1809 Exhibition and the Attack on Evangelical Culture

Susan Matthews

This essay suggests that Blake’s 1809 exhibition was haunted by the memory of the Irish painter James Barry (1741–1806) and …