Posts in Category: 18th Century
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds, July 16, 1723 – February 23, 1792, was an English painter and one of the leading portraitists of eighteenth-century Britain. Born in Plympton, Devon, he was the son of Samuel Reynolds, a clergyman and schoolmaster. Reynolds received his initial artistic training from Thomas Hudson in London and later traveled extensively in Italy between 1749 and 1752, studying the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, and other Old Masters. Upon returning to England, he established a highly successful portrait practice in London. In 1768 he became the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by King George III.
Reynolds specialized in portraiture, developing what became known as the British form of the Grand Manner. Drawing on Renaissance and Baroque precedents, he sought to elevate portrait painting by combining likeness with references to classical history, mythology, literature, and allegory. His sitters included members of the royal family, aristocracy, military officers, actors, writers, and intellectuals. Among his most notable portraits are those of Sarah Siddons, David Garrick, Omai, and numerous leading figures of Georgian Britain.
As president of the Royal Academy, Reynolds delivered a series of influential lectures known as the Discourses on Art, which shaped artistic education in Britain for generations. He was associated with many of the leading cultural figures of his era, including Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, and James Boswell. Reynolds's works are held by major collections including the National Gallery, Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery, the Wallace Collection, the Royal Collection, the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and numerous regional museums and historic houses throughout the UK and abroad.
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley, American painter, July 3, 1738 - September 9, 1815
Copley was born in Boston and had no formal academic art education. He was largely self-taught, though he probably learned the use of painting and engraving tools from his stepfather, Peter Pelham, a portrait painter, engraver, and teacher. Benjamin West and Sir Joshua Reynolds later encouraged him to study in Europe.
Copley worked first in Boston, with a temporary stay in New York in 1771–1772 and a brief visit to Philadelphia. In 1774 he left Boston for London and then traveled through Paris, Genoa, Rome, Naples, Florence, Parma, Mantua, Venice, and other European cities before settling permanently in London.
His early work is best known for precise, direct, psychologically observant portraits of colonial Americans, often with sharply rendered fabrics, objects, and social details. After moving to Britain, he increasingly worked in grander historical, political, and narrative subjects, while continuing to paint portraits.
His honors included election as a Fellow of the Society of Artists of Great Britain in 1766, Associate of the Royal Academy in 1776, Royal Academician in 1783, and Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1791. No formal pupils are securely associated with him, though John Trumbull was strongly impressed by him as a young artist.
