Sir Joshua Reynolds était un peintre anglais et l’un des portraitistes les plus influents du XVIIIe siècle. En tant que président fondateur de la Royal Academy of Arts, il a façonné le développement de l’art britannique de son époque, devenant une figure de proue de la création du « Grand Manner », un style esthétique idéalisé dérivé du classicisme et de l’art de la Haute Renaissance.
Joshua Reynolds est né en 1723 à Plympton, dans le Devon, et a très tôt montré un talent pour le dessin. Il a été apprenti chez le portraitiste Thomas Hudson à Londres avant de partir en voyage en Italie en 1749, où il a étudié les œuvres des maîtres anciens, notamment Michel-Ange, Raphaël et Titien. Ce voyage a profondément influencé son style et sa philosophie artistique, qu’il exposera plus tard dans ses « Discours sur l’art » (1769–1790), une série de conférences données à la Royal Academy qui soulignaient l’importance d’étudier l’art classique et de développer un style personnel.
Les portraits de Reynolds sont devenus synonymes de l’aristocratie britannique et de la culture émergente des célébrités. Ses portraits, rendus dans des couleurs riches et des poses empruntées à la peinture classique, capturaient ses sujets sous un jour noble et héroïque, mettant en valeur leur caractère et leur statut.
L’artiste a joué un rôle déterminant dans l’ascension du portrait en tant que genre dominant de l’art britannique. La maîtrise de Reynolds de la lumière, de la couleur et de la composition a contribué à élever le portrait au rang de peinture d’histoire, considérée à l’époque comme la forme d’art la plus noble.
En 1768, lors de la fondation de la Royal Academy of Arts, Reynolds en devint le premier président et resta en fonction jusqu’à sa mort en 1792. À travers son art, ses enseignements et ses écrits, Sir Joshua Reynolds a laissé un héritage durable dans le paysage de l’art britannique.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Lady Frances Marsham, later Countess of Romney (1755-1795), full-length, in a yellow dress and pink shawl, in a park landscape
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765), three-quarter-length, as a Ranger of Windsor Great Park, with the star and sash of the Order of the Garter, the tower of Fort Belvedere, Windsor Great Park, beyond
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy (1745-1798), half-length, in a beige, fur-trimmed coat, white stock and striped red waistcoat
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1792 London)
Edwin: Study of a young boy, half-length, in a brown coat, white shirt and blue sash
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of William Charles Colyear, Viscount Milsington, later 3rd Earl of Portmore (1747-1823), when a boy, half-length, in a grey coat, leaning on a table, with a spaniel
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of the artist, half-length, in a lilac coat
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. (PLYMPTON 1723-1792 LONDON)
Portrait of Edwin, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797), half-length, in a pink and green velvet waistcoat and jacket
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Elizabeth, Lady Forbes (c. 1750-1802), half-length, in a white dress and a pink mantle, with feathers, ribbons and pearls in her hair
Sir Joshua Reynolds (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of the artist, half-length, in a dark green coat, with a white cravat and spectacles
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1778)
Portrait of James Hay (1726-1778), 15th Earl of Erroll, full-length, in Coronation robes, holding the baton of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, a balustrade and a tree beyond
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plymton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Master Hare, or "Infancy"
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Elizabeth Falconer, Mrs. Stanhope, as Contemplation, three-quarter-length, in a white satin dress, before a draped curtain
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Francis Basset, later 1st Baron de Dunstanville and Basset (1757-1835), standing three-quarter-length, in a red suit and undergraduate robes, a mortar-board on the wall beside him
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of the Hon. John Tufton (1773-1799), full-length, in green classical dress, playing with a spaniel in a landscape
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (1723-1792)
Portrait of James Hay (1726-1778), 15th Earl of Erroll, full-length, in Coronation robes, holding the baton of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, a tree and a balustrade beyond
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Self-portrait of the artist, aged seventeen (recto ) , with a subsidiary study of Diana ( verso )
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of General William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian (1737-1815), styled Lord Newbottle and later Earl of Ancram, half-length
Attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London) and Studio
Portrait of Denis Daly (1747-1791), three-quarter-length, in a brown coat, buff striped waistcoat and brown breeches, leaning on a pedestal, with his tricorn hat, in a landscape
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Sir John St. Aubyn, 5th Bt., M.P. (1758-1839), half-length, in a dark coat and neckcloth
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. (PLYMTON 1732-1792 LONDON)
Portrait of Sir John Honywood (1757-1806), 4th Baronet, three-quarter-length, in a black coat, beside a tree with a dog
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Shannon (1727-1807), three-quarter-length, in a green waistcoat with gold trim and a grey coat, a tricorn under his left arm, in a landscape
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Mrs Collyear, half-length, in a pink dress, with a rose and a green sash
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Mrs. Thomas Edwards Freeman (1758-1782), three-quarter-length, in a white satin gown with a pink wrap, seated on a sofa in an interior
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London) and Studio
Portrait of Frederick William Ernest, Count von Schaumburg-Lippe (1724-1777), three-quarter-length, in the blue uniform of a Hanoverian Field Marshal with the ribbon of the Black Eagle of Prussia, a battle beyond
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A (PLYMPTON 1723-1792 LONDON)
A young girl holding her cat, with a landscape in the distance
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Bridget Morris, later Mrs. Lockwood, half-length, in a white silk dress and blue robe with ermine trim
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Mrs Wells, three-quarter-length, seated, in a striped dress and straw hat
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Infant Academy: The Mob Cap
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore (1700-1785), half-length, in a blue coat. with the badge and sash of the Order of the Thistle, a tricorn under his left arm
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of a lady, bust-length, with pearl earrings, unfinished
Attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of the artist
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A (PLYMPTON 1723-1792 LONDON)
Portrait of General William John Kerr (1737-1815), 5th Marquess of Lothian, styled Lord Newbottle and later Earl of Ancram, half-length
After Sir Joshua Reynolds; and English School, 18th Century
Portrait of the artist, bust-length, in a red jacket ( recto ); and Portrait of gentleman, traditionally identified as Thomas Haden, in a brown jacket, sketching ( verso )
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Girl with a bird
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. (PLYMPTON 1723-1792 LONDON)
Portrait of George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend (1724-1807), half-length, in armour
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Admiral Thomas Cotes, half-length, in flag Officer's uniform
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. (PLYMPTON, DEVON 1723-1792 LONDON)
Portrait of Lady Dashwood (1763-1796), seated, half-length, and her son, Henry George Mayne (1782-1803)
FOLLOWER OF SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A.
Portrait of Miss Ridge, bust-length
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of William Bagot, later 1st Baron Bagot (1728-1798), half-length, in a grey coat with a blue waistcoat, in a feigned oval
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. (PLYMPTON 1723-1792 LONDRES)
Esquisse pour le portrait de Lady Stanhope
Studio (?) of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Catherine Schindlerin, bust-length, in a black coat and white neck and head scarf with pink bows, holding a muff, in a feigned oval
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P. R. A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Emilia Vansittart (1778-1791), half-length, in a pink and white dress, holding a dog, in a painted oval
Follower of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A.
Portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Miss Anna Maria Patten, half-length, with her spaniel in a landscape
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton, Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of an officer, half-length, in a green waistcoat, red jacket and lace cravat
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Field Marshal Charles Moore, 6th Earl and 1st Marquess of Drogheda (1730-1822), half-length, in the uniform of the 19th Light Dragoons, his left hand resting on a plumed helmet placed on a plinth
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Plympton 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Montagu Edmund Parker (1737–1813), bust-length, in a blue frock coat and red velvet collar with gold buttons, in a feigned oval
Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Emma Gilbert (1729-1807), later Countess of Mount Edgcumbe, half-length, in a pink dress with lace trim, an oyster satin wrap, and bonnet with pink ribbons
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A. (PLYMPTON, DEVON 1723-1792 LONDON)
Portrait of Mrs. Elizabeth Bradshaw, née Wilson (d. 1802), half-length, in a white silk dress with an ermine-lined blue cloak
Sir Joshua Reynolds P.R.A. (Devon 1723-1792 London)
Portrait of Robert Cunninghame Graham (1735-1797), bust-length