SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS PRA (1723-1792) Master Bunbury (1780-81) Oil on canvas (78 x 64 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" This is one of those paintings whose genesis and the behind-the-scenes story are as interesting as its aesthetical value. Scholars have disagreed over …
Tag: 18th century British painting
Mr. and Mrs. Garrick
WILLIAM HOGARTH (1697-1764) David Garrick with his Wife Eva-Maria Veigel (c. 1757) Oil on canvas (133 x 104 cm) Windsor Castle, Royal Collection To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" The portrait was presumably a personal commission from the actor David Garrick. It was reported to be in progress by …
A Conversation in Rome
NATHANIEL DANCE (1735-1811) A Conversation Piece: James Grant of Grant, John Mytton, The Hon. Thomas Robinson, and Thomas Wynn (1760-61) Oil on canvas (96 x 123 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Nathaniel Dance's career resemble that of other British artists of that …
Miss Elizabeth Linley
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788) Miss Elizabeth Linley, later Mrs Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1775) Oil on canvas (76 x 63 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art "She is really beautiful, her complexion a clear, lovely, animated brown, with a blooming colour on her cheeks; her nose, that most elegant of shapes. Grecian, fine luxurious, easy-sitting hair, a charming forehead, pretty …
The Housekeeper
THOMAS BARBER (1768-1843) Mrs Garnett (c.1800) Oil on canvas (89,5 x 69 cm) Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire, UK To enlarge the image, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Mrs. Garnett was the housekeeper at Kedleston between 1766 and 1809. This is a surprising length of time for one who must have risen to …
A Royal Concert
PHILIPPE MERCIER (1689-1760) Frederick, Prince of Wales and his Sisters making Music at Kew (c.1734) Oil on canvas (77,5 x 57 cm) Cliveden, Buckinghamshire, UK To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Philippe Mercier was born in Berlin, the son of a French Huguenot tapestry worker. He studied painting …
Mother and Daughter
JOHN HOPPNER RA (1758-1810) Lady Caroline Capel and her daughter Harriet Oil on canvas (236 x 145 cm) Plas Newydd, Isle of Anglesey To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" Lady Caroline (1773-1847) had been married in 1792 to the Hon. John Capel (1769-1819), the first son of the …
An Elderly Lady
GEORGE BEARE (?-1749) Portrait of an Elderly Lady and a Girl (1747) Oil on canvas (127 x 102 cm) Yale Center for British Art, Yale, Connecticut, USA To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" George Beare's distinctive Portrait of an Elderly Lady and a Girl is unquestionably his masterpiece. …
A Modest Gentleman
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH William Johnstone-Pulteney, later 5th Baronet (1772) Oil on canvas (237 x 150 cm) Yale Center for British Art, Yale, Connecticut, USA To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" In an undated letter addressed by Gainsborough to Johnstone-Pulteney, the artist reveals how much did he care for his …
The Harley Sisters
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH Anne Harley, Lady Rodney (1758-1840) Martha Harley, Mrs. George Drummond (1757-1788) To enlarge the pictures, right-click on them and "Open in a new tab" It has been said, and I agree with it, that Gainsborough was at his best when portraying women. There is a certain charm that enhances their beauty, the poses …
Old Masters 