Street traders, aristocrats and mistresses line the walls of this exhibition of English portrait painter Joshua Reynolds. Although tiny, this two-room display is perfectly formed and reveals Reynolds’s innovative approach to both subject and style. It’s the perfect excuse to appreciate some of the finest eighteenth-century portraits whilst geeking out on the more technical aspects of an artist who constantly strove for visual perfection.
In 2010 the Wallace Collection undertook extensive conservation and analysis on their Reynolds holdings. What did they discover? An artist who ignored convention and rejected a rigid preparatory approach. An experimental canvas with splodges of colour and hand-written notes reveals the type of working studies Reynolds kept in his studio. X-rays show his experimental layering of paint and varnishes as well as the numerous revisions he made to his compositions, changing angles of shoulders or even starting anew over the top of failed beginnings.
Aside from his technical shrewdness, what the science also reveals is Reynolds’ ability to create a mesmerising narrative. His unusual ‘pendant’ (paired) portraits of Frances and Elizabeth Seymour-Conway depict the sisters in a contemplative mood against a dreamy midnight blue background. Other pictures cast children in a variety of roles including a little girl as a strawberry seller – a common sight on London streets of the time. And then there are his enchanting portrayals of notorious courtesans Nelly O’Brien and Kitty Fisher, who scandalously ate a £100 note on buttered bread. These are captivating portraits of a London society well worth revisiting.
Freire Barnes