Oil On Canvas Portrait Of Archbishop Richard Robinson Of Armagh - By Sir Joshua Reynolds

A fine, imposing and richly colored portrait of Archbishop Richard Robinson of Armagh - by Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA The sitter is depicted in three-quarter view, seated, dressed in clerical attire. This work was painted in 1758 when the sitter was Bishop of Killala (1751-59). Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA (1723 -1792) Reynolds was the leading English portrait painter of the 18th century. Through the study of ancient and Italian Renaissance art, as well as the works of Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck, he brought great variety and dignity to British portraiture. Reynolds was born in Plympton in Devon, the son of a headmaster and a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford: a more educated background than that of most painters. He was apprenticed in 1740 to the fashionable London portraitist Thomas Hudson, who also trained Wright of Derby. He spent from 1749 to 1752 abroad, mainly in Italy, and settled in London shortly after his return. He quickly established himself as the leading portrait painter, although he was never popular with George III. He was a key figure in London's intellectual life and a friend of Dr Johnson. When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, Reynolds was elected its first president. Although believing that history painting was the painter's noblest work, he had few opportunities to practice it, and his greatest works are his portraits. Archbishop Richard Robinson (1708-1794) Born into a wealthy family in Rokeby, Yorkshire, in 1708, Richard Robinson first arrived in Ireland in 1751 as chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, the king's representative in Ireland. He was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in 1765. As an educated and enlightened man, he resolved to use his wealth and power to found and maintain charitable and educational institutions, particularly in Armagh. He employed some of the greatest architects of his day, Thomas Cooley and Francis Johnston, to design buildings and plan his cathedral city. He had excellent social and political connections, coming into contact with intellectuals such as Dr Johnson and Edmund Burke and thus with all current issues. Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh, was a wealthy and influential man who embodied the spirit of his age. Provenance: Robertson family collection - Glasgow. Leeds Castle Kent until disaccession. Literature: The Rev. J. Nightingale, The Beauties of England and Wales, vol. XIII - part 1, London 1813, p.456; Inventory of 1848, p. 5; D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds, London 2000, text vol. pp. 394-95, no. 1534, plate vol. fig. 359 Images in higher resolution on request. Worldwide shipping available. Canvas: 50" x 40" / 127cm x 102cm Frame: 56.5" x 48" / 144cm x 122cm