JONATHAN RICHARDSON AND STUDIO (C.1665-1745)

Jonathan Richardson rose from a humble family of weavers to become one of the most sought-after and influential portrait painters in England during the first half of the eighteenth century. He was responsible not only for executing a large number of portraits, but also for three treatises on painting. The influence of these works was significant, especially on the young Sir Joshua Reynolds, who claimed that Richardson's writing inspired him to become an artist.

Richardson trained under the portrait painter John Riley, later marrying Riley's niece. His career as a portrait painter prospered and, by 1731, he was described by the contemporary art historian George Vertue as one of the three foremost masters of the day. He executed accomplished and sensitive portraits, with a richness of colouring that set him apart from his two main rivals, Sir Godfrey Kneller and Michael Dahl.