Joshua Reynolds: Experiments in Paint

Delightful and informative exhibition at the Wallace Collection using their Reynolds pictures to look at his technique and use of new materials and in doing so also looked at themes in his work.

Many of the techniques used by Reynolds have not lasted well and he was known to have to revisit pictures and repair them for clients. This did not stop people commissioning from him and there is a contemporary quote that “Even a faded picture by Reynolds will be the finest thing you have”. His ‘fancies’ pictures of children seem to have been particularly vulnerable. 

I was very interested in the changes in composition in the portraits. Sometimes fashion changed faster than painting a portrait so hairstyles had to be repainted to stay in fashion. It also looks like he worked on more than one version of a picture at the same time.

I liked the section which looked at Mary Robinson, also known as the actress Perdita, as it gave the chance to tell the story of how her lover fled to France and she pursued him to Dover but suffered a partial paralysis on the way and had to return to London. I also liked two pictures of the courtesan Nellie O’Brien together for the first time, one showing her in high fashion and one in a theatrical pose. The two pictures deliberately show different aspects of the same person to show off his skill.

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