R.A.'s of Genius Reflecting on the True Line of Beauty, at the Life Academy Somerset House

Various artists/makers

Not on view

This print was published to illustrate Charles Molloy Westmacott's "English Spy" (1832), which describes London's art world. Here, a nude female model reclines on a draped chair sketched by Royal Academicians. Each artist's easel is initialed, allowing us to identify Benjamin Robert Haydon, Martin Archer Shee, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Benjamin West, Richard Westmacott, John Jackson, Joseph Farington, and Francis Chantrey. The "Line of Beauty," which the title evokes, was an aesthetic concept promoted by William Hogarth.

R.A.'s of Genius Reflecting on the True Line of Beauty, at the Life Academy Somerset House, Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London), Hand-colored etching and aquatint

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.