Joshua Reynolds
1723–1792
Joshua Reynolds trained with the portraitist Thomas Hudson and traveled abroad, chiefly in Italy, from 1749 to 1752. Studying earlier masters helped him give contemporary British portraits the dignity associated with history painting. He became the Royal Academy’s first president in 1768, and his lectures shaped ideas about artistic education. Although he regarded history painting as the highest genre, portraiture remained the principal achievement of his own career.
