Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds was an English painter who lived from 1723 to 1792 and specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, and Lucy Peltz says he was the leading portrait artist of the 18th century and arguably one of the greatest artists in the history of art. He promoted the Grand Style in painting, which depended on the idealisation of the imperfect. He was a founder and the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by George III in 1769, and his famously prolific studio produced over 2,000 paintings during his lifetime.