SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) General Sir Banastre Tarleton (1782) National Gallery, London Oil on canvas (236 x 145 cm) (To enlarge the picture, right click on it and chose "Open in a new window") The man portrayed here was considered by his countrymen as a dashing war hero, while his former enemies, the American rebels, …
Tag: 18th century British painting
Handsome Jack
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) Captain John Hayes St. Leger (1778) Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, Great Britain Oil on canvas (240 x 147 cm) (To enlarge the picture, right click on it and chose "Open in a new tab") John Hayes St. Leger (1756-1800) was a famous rake of the late 18th century. He was the son …
A Welsh fop
FRANCIS COTES (1726-1770) Richard Myddleton MP (c. 1760=65) Oil on canvas (127 x 101 cm) National Museum of Wales (To enlarge the image, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab") Richard Myddelton (1726-1795) could well be considered the quintessential MP, as he did not do anything at all, mind you MPs in …
A dashing Guards officer
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) Captain George K. H. Coussmaker (1782) Oil on canvas (238 x 145 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Painted in 1782, this is one of Reynolds' finest works. He devoted an exceptionally large number of sittings …
A triple portrait
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) The Honourable Henry Fane with Inigo Jones and Charles Blair (1762) Oil on canvas (254 x 360 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Joshua was the seventh child of Samuel Reynolds, a schoolmaster, and his wife, Teophila Potter. He would have received a sound classical education under his father who …
A classical landscape
JOHN WOOTTON (1682-1764) A classical landscape with gypsies (1748) Oil on canvas (140 x 130 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Born in Snitterfield (Warwickshire) circa 1682, John Wootton is best remembered as a pioneer in the painting of sporting …
A Georgian Beauty
GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) Lady Elizabeth Stanley, Countess of Derby (1778) Oil on canvas (127 x 102 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Romney received little formal education, having left school at an early age to train with his father, …
The arrogant admiral
FRANCIS COTES (1726-1770) Admiral Harry Paulet, Sixth Duke of Bolton (1765) Oil on canvas (127 x 102 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" The son of a prominent apothecary and the older brother of Samuel Cotes, the miniaturist, Francis …
A Morbid Sitter
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) George Augustus Selwyn (c.1764-66) Oil on canvas (99 x 76 cm) The Earl of Rosebery, Dalmeny House, near Edinburgh Apart from being an example of Reynolds' artistic virtuosity, this portrait is fascinating because it represents a distraught individual whose face does not reveal his morbid character. According to Nicholas Penny: "George …
The Countess
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792) Anne, 2nd Countess Albemarle (c. 1759) Oil on canvas (126 x 101 cm) The National Gallery, London Although some colour has fled from the face in this portrait as is usual with Reynold's work of this period, the shadows there retain their transparency; the lights painted in the patterned black mantle …
Old Masters 