Sir Joshua Reynolds, Knight
Not on view
Reynolds painted many self-portraits in his long career. The one that this engraving reproduces is undoubtedly the most commanding, and displays the sitter's self-confidence as the head of the Royal Academy of Arts. It was painted in either 1779 or 1780 to furnish the new premises of the institution at Somerset House, London in whose collection it remains. Here the painter is dressed in his doctoral robes and cap from the University of Oxford, and stands beside a bust of Michelangelo, his artistic hero. Valentine Green soon based a mezzotint on the painting, published in December 1780, and many other prints followed. Bond's stipple was published to illustrate "The Fine Arts of the English School" (1812), edited by John Britton (1771–1857).
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