2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) spent most of the 18th century developing and implementing the principles of creating the perfect portrait. By the age of 45, he becomes such a recognized master and theorist of art that he is elected president of the Royal Academy. Joshua Reynolds is a tireless student, acquiring knowledge in areas far from painting. After graduating from Oxford at age 51, he paints his portrait in the robes of a doctor of laws.
Joshua Reynolds: biography
Joshua was the third child of Reverend Samuel Reynolds of Plympton, who worked at the college. The father's elder sister, noticing the boy's ability and attraction to drawing, paid for his education in the workshop of the portrait painter T. Goodson in London, and then in Italy. Viscount Keppel, whom he met, offered to go with him on a trip to the Mediterranean. On the way, the ship visited Lisbon, Cadiz, Algeria. So Joshua Reynolds ended up in Rome. Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Veronese, Correggio and van Dyck had a decisive influence on the novice artist.
First portrait
Returning to England in 1752year through Florence, Bologna and Paris, Joshua Reynolds settles in London. His sister Francis becomes his housekeeper, and the artist has already begun work that will immediately bring him great fame. He painted "Portrait of Admiral Keppel" in the pose of Apollo Belvedere (1753). The young admiral is handsome and slim, and his portrait is full of romance.
The left side is shrouded in a thick shadow, and on the right, under a cloudy bright sky, ships sway on the waves of the sea. August Keppel is perfection itself: regular features, beautiful brows over large eyes, a straight nose, lips that are slightly touched by a smile. He threw out his right graceful hand forward, and the second holds the hilt of the sword. The figure is not static, but full of dynamics. August Keppel is depicted against the backdrop of rocks and a surging sea, with foamy wave crests. Strikingly beautiful are the silver-pink shades of the sky, the reflections of which fall on the vest and camisole of the admiral. I liked the portrait so much that orders began to arrive immediately.
Charming courtesan
Free and full of ease, which marks the work of the master in the sixties, a portrait of Nellie O'Brien. This is one of Reynolds' favorite models.
At this time, Nellie was the beloved of Viscount Bolinbroke, to whom she gave birth to a son in 1764. The seated figure of a young woman is depicted in close-up. Behind it are dense bushes through which the rays of the sun penetrate. The light shines on the figure of the model and the curly white dog sheholds in her arms, and her face is hidden in the shadow of the hat. It is this – calm, pleasant, benevolent – that attracts attention the most.
Club
Working very hard and spending time in his studio, Reynolds was still a sociable person. To meet with friends, customers, intellectuals, military and political figures, he founded the club in 1764. At first there were very few of them, but Sheridan was also included, then this elite society grew to 35 people. And today there is a memorial plaque on the building for its meetings.
Royal Academy
Member of the Royal Society of Arts, the painter took up the organization of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, and in 1768 became president of the Royal Academy. He lectured there. They also accepted William Blake, who fiercely criticized the chairman. They were very different people - William Blake and Joshua Reynolds. The works of these authors, even in all concepts, diverged in directly opposite directions, not to mention the vision and display of the world. It was during these years that Reynolds became the chief artist of King George III after the death of Allan Ramsay.
Flourishing creativity
By this time, the portrait painter had almost abandoned allegories, and he puts his soul into creating images. He paints a portrait of actress Sarah Siddons as the muse of tragedy.
Designed in golden brown, the portrait shows the actress, relaxing in a chair, drawing inspiration from the predictions of the two sibyls behindback of the model on both sides of the chair.
He paints a commissioned portrait of Captain George Kussmaker. This piece is striking in its beauty and exceptionally fine workmanship.
Leaning against a tree, a young captain is standing in a riding suit. The color of his horse is rich, brown, which indicates good endurance of the animal. The pose of the horse - he practically wraps around the tree - is amazing. No wonder they posed for the artist 21 times! The portrait is unusually spectacular and romantic. The captain paid a lot of money for it at that time - 205 pounds and 10 guineas per frame.
Portrait "Lady Elisabeth Delme with Children" (1779)
A majestic young lady hugs two children. A fluffy dog sits at his feet. Compositionally, they represent a classic triangle, a very balanced figure. The painter in this technique was guided by the "Madonna with a Goldfinch" by Raphael. And the background, painted in brown tones, is reminiscent of both Titian and even Rembrandt.
Lady Delme is elegant and beautiful with pure English beauty. Her face is oval in shape and her eyes have beautiful heavy lids. The lady's hair is held up high and lightly powdered. Her white dress is covered by a rose-colored satin cloak. The baby is wearing a suit of the same color, and the girl, like her mother, is wearing a white dress. The entire color scheme of the picture is strictly balanced. This work can be called a majestic group portrait. This method was also used by Joshua Reynolds. Pictures of thiskind of flatter customers to some extent, without deviating, however, from a truthful image.
Historical paintings of the master are weaker than his portraits. But it is them that Joshua Reynolds writes on the orders of Catherine the Great and Prince Potemkin. Paintings with the titles "Child Hercules Strangling the Serpent" (glorifies the victories of Russia), "Temperance of Scipio" (generosity) and "Cupid Untying the Girdle of Venus" are in the Hermitage.
Autumn Life
By the age of 66, the artist began to get sick. He no longer sees with one eye and stops working. Beloved sister (and Reynolds lived as a bachelor) still performs the duties of a housekeeper. Treatment of the eye with bloodletting was unsuccessful. The general condition of the artist only worsened, and as a result he died at the age of 69.
In 1903, a monument was erected to him in the courtyard of the Royal Academy.
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