Sir Joshua Reynolds

Self-Portrait when Young

1753–8

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In Tate Britain

Spotlights: Sir Joshua Reynolds: President of the Royal Academy

Free entry
Artist
Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723–1792
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 737 x 616 mm
frame: 933 x 805 x 95 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Purchased 1871
Reference
N00889

Display caption

This self-portrait was probably painted soon after Reynolds set up a studio in London in 1753. He had spent the previous three years studying art in Italy.

The personal connections and artistic ambitions Reynolds developed when he was abroad served him well. These years marked the beginning of a carefully-managed and hugely successful career. This self-portrait, which deliberately echoes famous 
images by Rembrandt, signals his artistic aspirations. Such posturing struck a chord with London’s fashionable and aristocratic society, who wanted portraits that would flatter their growing cultural pretensions.

Gallery label, August 2004

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Left Right
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Self-Portrait’ c.1775

Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait

c.1775
On display at Tate Britain part of Spotlights
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Self-Portrait as a Deaf Man’ c.1775

Sir Joshua Reynolds Self-Portrait as a Deaf Man

c.1775
On display at Tate Britain part of Spotlights

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

date not known
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Francis Beckford’ 1755–6

Sir Joshua Reynolds Francis Beckford

1755–6

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

date not known
On display at Tate Britain part of Spotlights
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Lady Anstruther’ 1761

Sir Joshua Reynolds Lady Anstruther

1761
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Mrs Richard Cumberland’ ?1763

Sir Joshua Reynolds Mrs Richard Cumberland

?1763
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Sir James Hodges’ 1765

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir James Hodges

1765
On display at Tate Britain part of Spotlights
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Mrs Hartley as a Nymph with a Young Bacchus’ exhibited 1773

Sir Joshua Reynolds Mrs Hartley as a Nymph with a Young Bacchus

exhibited 1773

Sir Joshua Reynolds and studio Portrait of a Lady

date not known
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn and his Mother’ c.1768–9

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn and his Mother

c.1768–9
On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Suzanna Beckford’ 1756

Sir Joshua Reynolds Suzanna Beckford

1756

After Sir Joshua Reynolds Lady Sarah Bunbury or Lady Beauchamp

date not known
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Lord Ligonier’ 1760

Sir Joshua Reynolds Lord Ligonier

1760
On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers’ 1769

Sir Joshua Reynolds Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers

1769
On display at Tate Britain part of Spotlights