Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) raised English portrait painting to a level of intellectual ambition it had never before achieved. Born in Devon, the son of a grammar school master, he apprenticed with the fashionable portraitist Thomas Hudson before spending three years in Italy studying the Old Masters. He returned determined to apply what he called the "Grand Manner," borrowing poses, compositions, and symbolism from Raphael, Michelangelo, and classical antiquity to elevate portraiture above mere likeness. His approach aligned with the emerging Neoclassical movement.

In 1768, Reynolds became the founding president of the Royal Academy of Arts, a position he held until his death. King George III knighted him the following year. His annual lectures at the Academy, later published as the Discourses on Art, influenced generations of British artists and helped establish a theoretical framework for fine art in England. His studio was extraordinarily productive, completing over 2,000 paintings, though assistants handled much of the drapery work. Famous sitters included Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, the actress Sarah Siddons, and the Tahitian visitor Omai. His Portrait of Omai has been called "one of the greatest things British art has ever produced." Reynolds' eyesight began failing in 1789, and he delivered his last Discourse in 1790. He died in 1792 and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral after lying in state at the Royal Academy. His works hang at the Tate Britain, the National Gallery, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.