Portrait of Amelia Egerton, Lady Hume (1751-1809)
Joshua Reynolds·1785
Historical Context
This portrait, dating to 1785, is by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who born in Devon in 1723, was the first president of the Royal Academy. He elevated British portraiture through his Grand Manner approach inspired by Italian Old Masters. The portrait reflects the artist's engagement with the demands of elite patronage, capturing individual character within the conventions of Romantic portraiture. Such commissions formed the economic backbone of most painters' careers and provide valuable documents of the social world in which they operated.
Technical Analysis
The painting demonstrates the artist's mature command of technique, with accomplished handling of color, form, and atmospheric effects that reflect both personal artistic development and the broader stylistic conventions of the Romantic period.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice this 1785 portrait: Reynolds is in his last active years, his eyesight failing, but the female portrait manner remains assured.
- ◆Look at the warm, luminous flesh tones: Lady Hume's portrait shows Reynolds's glazing technique still producing its characteristic softness.
- ◆Observe the late-style confidence: forty years of portrait practice have made Reynolds's compositional formula entirely natural.
- ◆Find the fashionable 1785 costume: the dress and hair reflect the decade before the French Revolution transformed European fashion.
See It In Person
More by Joshua Reynolds
_with_Inigo_Jones_and_Charles_Blair_-_MET_DP213052.jpg&width=600)
The Honorable Henry Fane (1739–1802) with Inigo Jones and Charles Blair
Joshua Reynolds·1761–66
Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces
Joshua Reynolds·1763–65
Sir Thomas Rumbold, Bt.
Joshua Reynolds·1788
_and_Martha_Neate_(1741%E2%80%93after_1795)_with_His_Tutor%2C_Thomas_Needham_MET_DP168995.jpg&width=600)
Thomas (1740–1825) and Martha Neate (1741–after 1795) with His Tutor, Thomas Needham
Joshua Reynolds·1748
