Reynolds, << REHN uhldz, >> Sir Joshua (1723-1792), was a great English portrait painter. Reynolds’ portraits show his skill in capturing the likeness of his subjects, as well as his keen understanding of human nature. Among Reynolds’ masterpieces are the portraits Hon. Augustus Keppel (1754), William Robertsen (1772), and Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse (1784). Reynolds wrote 15 essays on art education called Discourses that stressed the importance of grandeur in art and rigid academic training. His writings influenced generations of artists.
Reynolds became the most fashionable painter of his time. His close friends included James Boswell, Edmund Burke, Samuel Johnson, and other leading intellectual figures of the late 1700’s. Reynolds helped found the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768 and became its first president. In 1784, he was appointed painter to the king.
Reynolds was born on July 16, 1723, in Plympton-Earl’s, near Plymouth. In 1740, he was apprenticed to Thomas Hudson, a leading London portrait painter. Reynolds later studied the works of Sir Anthony Van Dyck, the most famous portrait painter of the 1600’s. In 1749, Reynolds traveled to Italy. There he was influenced by the warm colors and sculptural clarity he saw in paintings of such Renaissance artists as Tintoretto, Titian, and Paolo Veronese.
Reynolds returned to England in 1753. He soon became a favorite portrait painter of the wealthy and the leaders of society. He also painted charming and sensitive portraits of children. In 1781, Reynolds visited Flanders and the Netherlands where he was influenced by the rich colors of the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. Reynolds died on Feb. 23, 1792.
