PLYMOUTH CITY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

TEACHERS PACK

About the Teacher’s Notes 3

Who was Sir Joshua Reynolds? 4

The 18th Century 5

The Royal Academy 7

Reynolds and celebrity 8

Portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds 10

Ideas for activities in school 24

What can we do for you? 25

How to book a visit 25

Further resources 25

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE TEACHER’S NOTES

These notes are intended to act as anintroduction to the recent acquisition byPlymouth City Museum and Art Gallery of SirJoshua Reynolds’ first self-portrait in oils, anda sketchbook of one of his journeys to Italy, forteachers, educators, and older students. It isan updated version of our notes from 2009.

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery isdelighted to announce the important newacquisitions by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), one of the most celebrated andinfluential painters of the 18th Century.

The Self-Portrait (1746) and Sketchbook(1750-2) are of international importance andhave been acquired by private treaty, thanks toa £326,300 Heritage Lottery Fund grant andsupport from the Art Fund, the V&A PurchaseGrant Fund, and the Friends of Plymouth CityMuseum and Art Gallery. In addition, manylocal people have also contributed to thispurchase, and share the Plymouth CityMuseum and Art Gallery’s vision of theMuseum becoming a centre for the study ofSir Joshua Reynolds early life and works, andensuring the painting and sketchbook aresaved for Plymouth and the region. Thisimportant acquisition – which has taken over24 months to complete – and follows on fromthe Acceptance in Lieu of Reynolds portraitsfrom Port Eliot in 2007.

These magnificent items will become valuableadditions to the Museum and ArtGallery’s permanent collection. The acquisitionsecures the painting and sketchbook for thecity, ensuring that future generations cancontinue to enjoy these wonderful items.

These notes cover some of the broad themesthat relate to Reynolds life and work, and lookat seven works from our collection in depth.Some of these works are on display in ourCottonian Collection gallery, and some areinclude in In The Frame: Plymouth’s PortraitsRevealed and can be visited by schools andcolleges. It offers ideas and starting points forvisiting teachers to use with all age groups -both in our galleries, and also back in theclassroom on portraiture, the 18th Century,and a famous local person.

Please refer to page 25 for guidance on howto book a visit.

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WHO WAS SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS?4

Sir Joshua Reynolds was born in Plympton on15 July 1723. His father Samuel Reynoldswas a clergyman, and Master of PlymptonGrammar School, which later became Hele’sSchool. Reynolds’ passion for art was clear fromhis childhood. At the age of nineteen, he beganto study painting with the London-based artistThomas Hudson, who was himself a successfulportrait painter. After learning how to paintportraits that flattered his subjects within twoyears (five years was the usual length of anapprenticeship), he returned to Plymouth Dock(now Devonport) and began to paint portraitsof well-off local people and their families.

In terms of his career opportunities, PlymouthDock was an important area for Reynolds tohave relocated. Separate to Plymouth,Stonehouse and Plympton, Plymouth Dockwas a new town based around the navaldockyard. The naval officers who lived inPlymouth Dock began commissioning portraitsfrom Reynolds – the first of which to bring anynotice was a portrait of Captain John Hamilton,who had married into the Eliot family of StGermans. This early recognition paid dividendsin the future, as Reynolds continued to paintportraits of Admirals, Commodores and Captainsfor the rest of his life. In those days nearly allBritish Navy officers belonged to the aristocracy,and this also opened up possibilities of furthercommissioned portraits for Reynolds later in life.

In May 1749, aged 26, Reynolds travelled tothe Mediterranean with Captain AugustusKeppel, whom he had painted at PlymouthDock. He was dropped-off at Port Mahon inMinorca, where he was again able to securecommissions from visiting naval officers. Hewas able to afford a visit to Italy, and for the

first time saw works by the great Italianpainters, which were to become the inspirationfor many of his later paintings. He stayed inRome for two years, memorising the work by themasters that inspired him, but made surprisinglylittle work whilst there. He also travelled toFlorence for six months, Venice for six weeks,and Bologna and Palma for a few days.

In 1753, Reynolds returned home to Devon.After three months he moved to London andset up a studio at St Martin’s Lane. His rise inpopularity amongst London’s wealthy elitesecured 125 sitters in 1755 alone. This led toReynolds, like most other artists of the day,employing an assistant to paint this backgroundsand ‘block in’ his figures, while he was left tofinish off important details such as the faceand hands of his sitters. Among his assistantswere Guiseppe Marchi, whom he had met inRome as a 15 year old, and James Northcote,another Plymouth-born artist.

In 1768, Reynolds became the first presidentof the Royal Academy (see page ? for moreinformation), and secured his reputation overthe next few years with a series of high profilepaintings, such as ‘The Ladies Waldegrave’,and ‘Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen’.He was knighted in 1769.

By the end of his life, Reynolds had thereputation of being the greatest portrait painterin England, and considered an equal to thegreat European painters such as Velasquez,Rembrandt and Rubens. He never truly losthis Plymouthian accent either!

Not bad for a lad from Plympton, eh?

THE 18TH CENTURY5

Britain was at war for a large part of the 18thCentury, most notably involved in the AustrianWar of Succession, the Seven Years War andthe American War of Independence. Britain’svictories in the Seven Years War deliveredsignificant territorial gains and concreted itsposition as master of the high seas and theworlds leading colonial power. The loss of theAmerican colonies on the other hand was asevere blow. Plymouth played an importantrole in the protection of the country and itsinterests as a naval garrison town and thelocation of the growing naval dockyard. Manyof the naval officers who were stationed inPlymouth would have been among Reynolds’early client base; the commissions from militaryofficers would continue throughout his careerand serve to celebrate Britain’s heroes in truepatriotic fashion.

London had become the major European portas a result of Britain’s increasing trade with itscolonies. The city grew and many of itsinhabitants were involved with the port;merchants, shipping agents and clerks,customs officers, marine insurers and thosewho worked in the financial institutions. Theseoccupations swelled the ranks of the ‘middlingclasses’, joining the doctors, solicitors andclergymen. Sugar, tobacco and cotton fromplantations in Britain’s colonies were amongthe most profitable imports – the production ofthese commodities relied heavily on thetransatlantic slave trade.

London was also the political centre; therewere two political parties that held the balanceof power during the century - the Tories andthe Whigs. The Whig politician Robert Walpolebecame the first person to hold the powers ofa Prime Minister in 1721. The Tories weretraditional and tended to come from the oldlanded families whilst the Whigs were popularwith the up and coming merchant class andprofessionals and were more liberal in theirbeliefs. Only about 5% of the population wereeligible to vote and qualification was byproperty. Members of Parliament were anothersource of commission for Reynolds and hepainted Charles Fox and Lord Rockinghamamong others. The cartoons of James Gillrayoffer an interesting contrast to Sir Joshua’sportraits and an insight into contemporarypolitical issues.

Many of Reynolds’s clients came from wealthylanded families, many of whom hadresidences in the new and fashionable areas ofthe city as well as country homes; they wouldhave been attracted by the many pleasurablepursuits and society that London offered. Thetheatres of Drury Lane and Covent Garden, theopera and the art exhibitions would be the inplaces to be seen and the fashionable ladies ofthe day would display their fine and fancygarments. The popularity of the theatretranscended class - even the Prince Regentwas an avid theatre goer - and Reynoldspainted the popular stars of the day.

THE 18TH CENTURY

The scientific discoveries of the enlightenmentled to inventions such James Watt’s steamengine and Arkwright’s spinning frame whichkick started the industrial revolution thatoccurred in the latter half of the century. Thefirst cotton mill opened in Derbyshire in 1771although it wasn’t until the 19th century thatindustrialists ranked among the wealthiestclasses. Enlightenment philosophers hadapplied rational thinking to big questions suchas the nature and existence of God and abouthow society should be structured. AdamSmith’s major work The Wealth of Nationsapplied enlightenment logic to the economyand with its theory on free trade was theherald of today’s capitalist society.

Many of these new ideas received an airing tothe populace through the expansion of printinghouses. Pamphlets and newspapers becamemore widely read, and would have beenavailable to read in coffee houses. The Times,which first appeared as the Daily UniversalRegister in 1785, is the only daily newspaperthat has survived from the 18th century tothis day. Debating societies were formed tomull over these ideas, topics such as ‘whetherthe current peace would last’, new inventionssuch as the steam engine or the contentiousissue of slavery would have been discussed.There might also be criticism of the latestgovernment decision on taxation or the PrinceRegent’s spending habit and a good deal ofgossip thrown in. At the top end of thespectrum The Literary Club, of whichReynolds was a founding member, met at theTurk’s Head; they had a restrictedmembership of 30 and only the most learnedmen of the literary and liberal professionswere invited to join, this ensured that allaspects of debates could be fully understood.

Of course there was another side of society,the large underclass who worked on the landas labourers or in the new factories - the label‘working class’ had not yet been adopted.Many ordinary people lived in poverty and hadno vote and therefore no way of improving theirlot, some took solace in drinking gin whichwas cheap and widely available. Justice washarsh and the death penalty was given forrelatively minor offences; James Boswellrecorded watching hangings at Newgate Prisonin his journals and such events would draw alarge crowd. The disparity between the richand the poor was not a subject covered bySir Joshua Reynolds whose sitters were takenfrom the upper echelons of society - trycomparing the work of Hogarth for a differentview of the 18th century.

Those who were ineligible to vote often madetheir grievances heard by rioting, these riotsdid not have the violent connotations that weassociate with the word today and were, moreoften than not, a protest about a singlelocalised issue. After the French Revolution in1789 many of those in power feared that asimilar event would happen in Britain.Edmund Burke was particularly vocal in hiscondemnation and wrote his Reflections onthe revolution. Others such as Charles Foxapplauded the fall of the Bastille, equating itwith France’s attempt to gain the same libertiesas the English but opinions were later to changedramatically with the onset of the terror.

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THE ROYAL ACADEMY7

The Academy was founded by George III in1768. The 34 founding Members were a groupof prominent artists and architects who weredetermined to achieve professional standing forBritish art and architecture. They also wantedto provide a venue for exhibitions that would beopen to the public; and to establish a school ofart through which their skills and knowledgecould be passed to future generations of artists.

Among the founding members were artists suchas Thomas Gainsborough, John Zoffany,Francesco Bartolozzi and Angelica Kauffmann.Other artists with strong South West connectionsjoined later - among them John Opie and James Northcote.

Sir Joshua Reynolds was the first president of the Royal Academy, a position he held from it’sformation in 1768 until his death in 1792. As President, Reynolds was expected to lecture tothe other members and students of the Academy. His Discourses on Art, delivered between1769 and 1790, are still available to read today.

The Academy today continues to aspire, in the words of its eighteenth-century founders, ‘topromote the arts of design’, that is: to present a broad range of visual art to the widest possibleaudience; to stimulate debate, understanding and creation through education; and to provide afocus for the interests of artists and art-lovers.

REYNOLDS AND CELEBRITY8

When we think of celebrities today, we think of countless magazines and newspapers - Hello,OK, Now, The Sun, The Mirror – devoted on the whole to reporting on the activities of this smallsection of society. We watch television programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, Splash,Tumble and I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. We buy their autobiographies, perfumes, andclothing ranges.

Celebrity was just as important in the 18th century as it is for us, possibly more so. Thereobviously weren’t television programmes to watch, perfumes or clothing ranges to buy back then,but being seen in the right place at the right time was paramount. One way to do this was tohave your portrait painted by one of the greatest artists of the land – Thomas Gainsborough,Allen Ramsey or Joshua Reynolds. Not only would your portrait have been on display at one ofthe artists’ private galleries, a public gallery or a London townhouse, but more than likely itwould have also been reproduced as an engraving and published widely.

This also worked both ways – actors, courtesansand scholars were keen to promote themselvesto gain recognition – and also the artists wereable to further their reputation by publishingwidely. In the same way that Sam Taylor-Woods’2004 film of David Beckham sleeping waswidely covered by newspapers and televisionwhen it was displayed at the National PortraitGallery in London, so too Reynolds’ portraitswould have stirred the public interest – keento see the latest fashions, famous visitors orRoyal portraits.

PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

Self-PortraitOil on canvas1746© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery

The self-portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds waspainted on his return to Plymouth in 1746,shortly after his apprenticeship to ThomasHudson in London. Hudson was born in Devon,but was working in London as one of the mostsuccessful portrait artists of the time. Othernotable apprentices of Hudson included JosephWright of Derby, and the drapery painter PeterToms. Later in Reynolds career, Toms was oftenemployed to work on the elaborate costumeand fabric elements of the large paintings.

It’s been suggested that Reynolds painted thiswork (and the portraits of his father and sisterwhich are currently on display in the CottonianCollection gallery) to advertise his services as aportrait painter when he and his sisters, Elizabethand Frances, moved to Plymouth Dock (modern-day Devonport) after the death of their father in1745.

During conservation work on this painting in2014, an x-ray was taken which shows that thiscanvas has a further portrait beneath the finishedsurface. It’s currently unclear who this mightrepresent.

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PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS12

Portrait of Rev. Samuel ReynoldsOil on canvasc.1745-46© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery: Cottonian Collection

This portrait shows Reynolds father, Rev. Samuel Reynolds, sitting almost in profile.

Samuel Reynolds became Master of Plympton Grammar School in 1715, which later becameHele’s School. The school survives today as one of the largest secondary schools in the city,though has now moved from the Old Grammar School in Plympton St Maurice to a new site.

As Samuel died on Christmas Day 1745, this portrait is thought to have painted posthumously.The death of his father caused Reynolds to return home for 4 years, only leaving when theopportunity to travel to the Mediterranean with Captain Keppel arose.

PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

SketchbookVellum binding and cover with sketches in pencil, pen andink, and black chalk1750-52© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery

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This sketchbook was compiled by Reynolds over a couple of years while travelling in Italy. InReynolds’ time, the Grand Tour was a requirement for aristocratic young men, who visited themajor European cities to absorb their classical and more recent cultural legacy. Reynolds wasnot an aristocrat, but had the good fortune of being supported by well-off local families –particularly the Edgcumbe family at this time. Richard Lord Edgcombe arranged for Reynolds totravel to Italy with Commodore Augustus Keppel, leaving from Plymouth Dock in 1749. Keppelwould later become First Lord of the Admiralty.

While in Italy, Reynolds was able to study thework of great sixteenth and seventeenthcentury painters and sculptors, whose work heconsidered to be among the greatestachievements in art. In the sketchbook, hecopied work by artists such as GianLorenzo Bernini, not by copying every detail,but by selecting the parts that interested himthe most. He also chose to adapt and changesome of the things he saw, which highlightshis own confidence as an artist at this time.

This sketchbook is one of only ten known toexist, and is the only in a public collectionoutside of the Royal Academy.

PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

Portrait of Lady Anne BonfoyOil on canvas1754© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery: Port Eliot Collection

This is a painting of Anne Bonfoy, a member of one of Reynolds most important local patrons,the Eliot family. The family had lived at Port Eliot, a large house in St Germans since the mid-16thCentury. It was painted two years after the artist had returned from his trip to Italy.

Reynolds received many commissions to paint members of the Eliot family and their relations,and was to remain on close terms with them throughout his life. Edward, 1st Lord Eliot, was oneof the pallbearers at Reynolds’ state burial in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral on 3 March 1792.

Anne had married Hugh Bonfoy, a captain in the Royal Navy in 1751. Reynolds was in a primeposition whilst based in Plymouth to capitalise on the abundance of wealthy Royal Naval officersin the city. They were willing to pay good money for themselves and their families to be painted byartists such as Reynolds, and also often paid for copies to be made to hang in their friends’ houses.

Reynolds’ reputation was secured by painting this kind of work. The portraits would have been seenby the great and good of the time, both in the South West and London, and would have beenappealing for both the artist and the sitter – gaining a reputation for the sitter as a fashionablelady of the time, and for Reynolds in helping to secure more commissions for new portraits.

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PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

Sitter’s Book, pg 17-181755© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery: Cottonian Collection

This is Reynolds’ sitter’s book from 1755.Reynolds kept these for most of his paintingcareer, and so tells us an awful lot about howhis paintings were made. There are numerousentries for the same sitters, sometimes withthe word ‘drapery’ added next to a name toremind him of the purpose of the sitting. Wealso know that Reynolds employed artistssuch as Peter Toms to work on his draperyaround this date. He also recorded the timeshe was expecting his sitters to arrive at thestudio.

On these pages we can see the names ofsitters listed for different times on differentdays. Two or three well know names are listedon this page:

Prideaux – almost certainly from the well-known Cornish family

Keppel – in this case both Miss MJ Keppel,and Miss Elizabeth Keppel - great, great, great,great, great grandmother to Princess Diana

Ludlow – a very large well-known portrait ofPeter Ludlow from 1755 is in the collection ofWoburn Abbey, including a large portrait of adog. Is this dog listed for a sitting on Mondayat 10am?

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PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS20

Self PortraitOil on canvasc.1764/65© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery: Cottonian Collection

This portrait from our collection would havebeen painted when Reynolds was around 40years old. Compare it to the earlier self-portraitfrom 1746, on page 11.

Despite Reynolds having a very busyprofessional life – he was said to work sevendays a week for nine months of the year - theartist was able to regularly paint images ofhimself. Perhaps he waited until the summerwhen his appointment book was usuallyempty. Reynolds used this time to experimentwith new techniques and compositions for hiswork.

Clearly Reynolds worked hard for his success.Putting in long hours from as early in hiscareer as the 1750’s helped to establish hisreputation as the greatest portrait painter inthe land.

PORTRAITS BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

Portrait of Charles Rogers FRS FSAOil on canvas1777© Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery: Cottonian Collection

Charles Rogers was an important collector ofbooks, paintings and prints. He inherited partsof his substantial collection from WilliamTownson, a colleague at the Customs House inLondon. He also added to the collectionwhenever he could, even employing people tocollect on his behalf overseas. The portraitshows Rogers in his fine clothes and holdingpapers, implying a well-off and professionalindividual. This portrait was commissioned byRogers, and was the only painting by Reynoldsin his collection at the time.

Rogers’ collection forms a key part of theCottonian Collection held by Plymouth CityMuseum and Art Gallery, having been left tohis brother-in-law William Cotton I. The otherReynolds paintings in the Cottonian Collectionwere added later by William Cotton III, andwere donated to the city on his death.

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Royal Academy-styleUsing the text from ‘The Royal Academy’section of this pack on page 8, and furtherresearch in the classroom, try hanging your own‘Royal Academy’ display in school of paintingsfrom floor to ceiling. Can you see the paintingsat the top of the display properly? Where is themost desirable place to hang your paintings –at the top, at the bottom, or in the middle?

Make sure you make nice, big frames to fitaround your paintings!

PaparazziCan you think of a celebrity that you have seenface-to-face? Now think of all those celebritiesthat you have seen on television, or in magazinesor newspapers. Try making your own Hello- stylemagazine, filled with portraits of those celebrities.You could collage these, or have a go at drawingthem from memory. Why not try only usingcelebrities from Plymouth? How many can youthink of?

Painting from MemoryHave a look at the Portrait of Rev. SamuelReynolds, a painting of Reynolds’ father. It waspainted after his father’s death, meaningReynold’s either made drawings of him whilestill alive, or painted this from memory. Havea go at painting a portrait from memory, withoutmaking drawings or using photographs first.Try and paint one of your family members –make sure they are not in the classroom withyou (we know some parents are also TA’s)! Didyou find it difficult? Why was it so difficult?Did your painting resemble that person?

You poser!Have a look at the portrait of Anne Bonfoy onpage 17 Imagine you are either Anne Bonfoy,or her husband Hugh, posing for Sir JoshuaReynolds. What pose would you have held foryour portrait, and what clothes, jewellery andaccessories would you have chosen foryourself to wear for this important occasion?

Daily diariesUsing the sitters book on page 19 as a startingpoint, why not ask your pupils to create theirown daily diaries? These don’t have to just berecords of what they do every day in school -they could also write down what they spendon sweets at the corner shop or how manystickers they’ve swapped in the playground.Create a graph in the classroom collating theseresults and ask the pupils to analyse the results.Why not also try to recreate the style of writingused by Reynolds in the 1755 book so it looksauthentic? Maybe you could find somethingsimilar as a font?

Self-PortraitTry painting a self-portrait. Use differentmaterials to create robes such as the one wornby Reynolds in this painting. This will help youto concentrate on painting your face, ratherthan your clothes or jewellery. How difficultdid you find it when you were painting yourself-portrait? Did the model fidget too much?!

IDEAS FOR ACTIVITIES IN SCHOOL24

What can we do for you?

We are able to offer schools various options when visiting the exhibition. Visits can bearranged for anywhere between one class to an entire school. In many cases, amember of staff can be present to facilitate your visit. We are also very happy for youto visit as a self-directed group.

A visit to Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery provides a perfect opportunity foryour pupils to experience paintings and drawings by Sir Joshua Reynolds first hand –and will act as a starting point for working in sketchbooks, fact finding, and makingyour own portraits.

How to book a visit

Booking in advance is essential for visits

We want to ensure your group has the best experience possible when visiting, soplease remember to contact us first before organising your trip. We are very popularwith schools, colleges and other user groups, so our galleries can get very busy fromtime to time.

For enquiries for school visits, contact museumvisits@plymouth.gov.uk. Please have arange of possible dates available before contacting us, as it may not always bepossible to offer you your first choice date.

Please remember to bring along sketchbooks and pencils for your visit, as wetmaterials, and also dusty materials will not be permitted in the exhibition galleries. Ifyou have any questions regarding materials, please contact us using the email above.

Further resources

Many of our previous Teachers Packs, Notes, and Resources are available as PDFdownloads from our website –

http://issuu.com/plymouthcitymuseumandartgallery

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/museumlearningresources.htm

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