Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 - 23 February 1792) was an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specialising in portraits. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769.
Early life
Joshua Reynolds, self-portrait, aged around 24
Reynolds was born in Plympton, Devon, on 16 July 1723 the third son of the Rev. Samuel Reynolds, master of the Free Grammar School in the town. His father had been a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, but did not send any of his sons to the university.One of his sisters was Mary Palmer (1716–1794), seven years his senior, author of Devonshire Dialogue... See More