Artwork
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), PRA (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum)
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), PRA (design for a mosaic in the Victoria and Albert Museum) is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Henry Wyndham Phillips. It dates from 1854 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
This oil painting is a design for a mosaic portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, created by Henry Wyndham Phillips around 1854. It is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait depicts Reynolds, a prominent portraitist and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, in a confident pose, holding a book and rolled paper, symbolizing his artistic and intellectual pursuits.
Technique & Style
Rendered in a neoclassical style, the painting features Reynolds in a red robe and black hat against a golden, patterned wall, with a low pedestal and small table beside him, creating a sense of dignified elegance.
History & Provenance
Phillips, a British portrait painter trained by his father Thomas, created this work from his London studio, which he inherited in 1845, continuing his father's practice.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henry Wyndham Phillips (c. 1820 – 8 December 1868) was a British artist and portrait painter. Although he produced and exhibited a small number of paintings of scriptural subjects early on in his career, he spent most…
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