Joshua Reynolds

Sir
Joshua Reynolds
PRA FRS FRSA
Self-portrait, c. 1750
Born
Joshua Reynolds

(1723-07-16)16 July 1723
Plympton, Devon, England
Died23 February 1792(1792-02-23) (aged 68)
Leicester Fields, London, England
Resting placeSt Paul's Cathedral
NationalityBritish
EducationPlympton Free Grammar School
Notable workThe Age of Innocence
Lord Keppel (1779). Keppel commanded the Channel Fleet in the Battle of Ushant with the French in 1778,
Jane, Countess of Harrington by Reynolds
Colonel George K.H. Coussmaker, Grenadier Guards by Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter of portraits. He helped to start the Royal Academy of Arts and was its first president. King George III made him Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1769.

Some critics disliked Reynolds and the Royal Academy. The Pre-Raphaelites called him "Sir Sloshua" and William Blake published a savage pamphlet Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses in 1808. On the other hand, Turner was a strong supporter, and asked to be buried at Reynolds' side.

Reynolds has over 1000 portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Despite Blake's criticisms, Reynold's Discourses had a lasting impact on the theory and practice of art.

References

  1. 1 2 Sir Joshua Reynolds, National Portrait Gallery, London, accessed September 2009