Revolutionising British art? Sir Joshua Reynolds Revolutionising British art?

Leading Thread Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) Painter and aesthetician How and why has he become such a prominent figure in British art? Are his contributions still meaningful for contemporary British artists?

Outline The image-building of an emblematic figure of British art: a controversial status? Reviving and defining British art: towards “great art” and the “Grand Style” Changing the place of art in British culture: institutionalising art and making it more accessible

1) The image-building of an emblematic figure of British art: a controversial status? “I would rather be an apothecary than an ordinary painter; but if I could be bound to an eminent master, I would choose the latter.” (from Mark Hallett, Reynolds, Portraiture in action) Self-portrait, 1747-9

“And though in what has been done, no new discovery is pretended, I may still flatter myself, that from the discoveries which others have made by their own intuitive good sense and native rectitude of judgment, I have succeeded in establishing the rules and principles of our Art on a more firm and lasting foundation than that on which they had formerly been placed.” Reynolds, Discourse XV

Countess Waldegrave Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh “Be as select in those whom you endeavour to please, as in those you endeavour to imitate. Without the love of fame you can never do any thing excellent.” Reynolds, Discourse V Countess Waldegrave Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1771-4)

“The Enquiry in England is not whether a Man has Talents & Genius, But whether he is Passive & Polite & a Virtuous Ass & obedient to Noblemen’s Opinions in Art Science. If he is, he is a Good Man. If Not, he must be Starved.” William Blake Retrieved from Richard Wendorf, Sir Joshua Reynolds, The Painter in Society

2) Reviving and defining British art: towards “great art” and the “Grand Style” Grand Tour from 1749 Italy Veronese Self-portrait, 1780

Discourses on Art (1769-1791) 30 editions during his lifetime Translated into French, German and Italian

"Invention in painting does not imply the invention of the subject; for that is commonly supplied by the Poet or Historian.“ "It ought to be either some eminent instance of heroick action or heroick suffering. There must be something either in the action, or in the object, in which men are universally concerned“ "the great events of Greek and Roman fable and history, which early education, and the usual course of reading, have made familiar and interesting to all Europe" "Such too are the capital subjects of scripture history, which beside their general notoriety, become venerable by their connection with our religion." Reynolds, Discourse IV, 1771

“The emphasis on Greek and Roman authors and ancient history meant a constant diet of stories of war, empire, bravery and sacrifice for the state.” “Classical literature was doubly congenial because the kind of patriotic achievement it celebrated was a highly specific one. The heroes of Homer, Cicero and Plutarch were emphatically men of rank and title. As such, they reminded Britain’s élite of its duty to serve and fight, but in addition affirmed its superior qualifications to do both. And the classics had a further practical advantage. The societies they celebrated were emphatically dead. Consequently, they could inspire without being any threatening.” Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837

Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus (1788) Sitter: Lady Hamilton

Royal Academy, 1768 George III

“Reynolds guided the policy of the academy with such skill that the pattern he set has been followed with little variation ever since.” Encyclopaedia Britannica

3) Changing the place of art in British culture: institutionalising art and making it more accessible 1760 = the nation’s first ever public exhibition of contemporary art Artists’ studios  to places devoted to the display of art Annual exhibitions at the Royal Academy could draw up to 23.000 visitors from all over the world

Rudolf Ackermann, Royal Academy, from Microcosm of London (1808)

Bibliography Encyclopaedia Britannica Sir Joshua Reynolds, Discourses on Art, edited by Robert R. Wark (London: Yale University Press, 1997). Mark Hallett, Reynolds, Portraiture in action (London: Paul Mellon Centre For Studies in British Art, 2014) Richard Wendorf, Sir Joshua Reynolds, The Painter in Society (London: National Portrait Gallery Publications, 1996). Linda Colley, Britons, Forging the Nation 1707-1837 (Yale University Press, 1992).