Sir Joshua Reynolds

1723–1792

Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘The Age of Innocence’ ?1788
The Age of Innocence ?1788
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2 artworks by Sir Joshua Reynolds
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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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Fancy picture Grand manner

Artworks

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Artist as subject

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Features

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  • Philip Mercier, ‘The Schutz Family and their Friends on a Terrace’ 1725

    Art Term

    Fancy picture

    Fancy picture refers to a type of eighteenth century painting that depict scenes of everyday life but with elements of ...
  • Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire ...’ exhibited 1817

    Art Term

    Genres

    Genres are types of painting. These were codified in the seventeenth century as (in descending order of importance) history, portrait, ...
  • Sir Thomas Lawrence, ‘Homer Reciting his Poems’ 1790

    Art Term

    Bitumen

    Bitumen is a naturally-occurring, non-drying, tarry substance used in paint mixtures, especially to enrich the appearance of dark tones
  • Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers’ 1769

    Art Term

    Grand manner

    Grand manner is an English term used widely from the eighteenth century to describe what was considered to be the ...
  • Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen’ 1773

    Art Term

    Neoclassicism

    Neoclassicism was a particularly pure form of classicism that emerged from about 1750
  • Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘A Child’s Portrait in Different Views: ‘Angel’s Heads’’ 1786–7

    Art Term

    Classicism

    The term classicism is used to describe art that makes reference to ancient Greek or Roman style
  • William Hilton the Younger, ‘Cupid and Nymph’ exhibited 1828

    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 ...
  • Sir John Everett Millais, Bt, ‘Hearts are Trumps’ 1872

    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
  • William Blake, ‘The Penance of Jane Shore in St Paul’s Church’ c.1793

    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 ...

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