Three months previous to the date when the ashes of Sir Godfrey Kneller
mingled with kindred dust, the first Englishman who, according to
the eloquent eulogium of Burke, added the praise of the elegant arts
to the other glories of his country, was cradled, with time-honored
formalities, in a borough town of Devonshire.
Joshua Reynolds was the tenth of the numerous family with which his
parents――a worthy and old-fashioned couple――were blessed. His father
was a scholar and divine, known and valued in the province for the
respectability of his learning, the innocence of his heart, and the
simplicity of his mind. Besides, he is stated to have been of so
singularly absent a tendency, that once, while performing a journey
on horseback, he dropped one of his top-boots by the way, without
perceiving the unusual and inconvenient loss he had met with. Doubtless
when he arrived at home, this laughable and disastrous incident would
furnish his fruitful dame, Theophila, with the text of a diffuse and
impassioned curtain-lecture, and, perhaps, make the reverend personage
considerably more careful when in future he escaped for a while
from his toils and fatigues as head-master of the grammar-school of
Plympton. There his distinguished son was born on the 16th of July,
1723; and there he was ere long inspired with the ambition of linking
his name indestructibly with that glorious art of which he became so
successful a cultivator.
The occasion of the high-fated infant’s presentation at the baptismal
font was rendered memorable by a mistake so awkward and peculiar, as
to furnish reasonable grounds for believing the mental characteristics
of the elder Reynolds to have been then at work. In any case, the
officiating clergyman was led by some process to pronounce the
Christian name of Joseph instead of that by which the child then
presented has since been known to the world, as well as registered in
the records of fortune and the rolls of fame. On the education of young
Reynolds much less attention was bestowed than might have been expected
from the circumstances of his birth; and he did not profit to any large
extent by such instruction as he received. He did not obtain any great
stock of classical knowledge; but his deficiency in this important
respect, though never supplied, was, in after days, countervailed and
thrown into the background by the information which he had acquired
in untiring study of Nature and perseverance in Art, in that commerce
with the most refined portion of the British public, of which, for many
long years, he had the advantage, and in the constant and familiar
intercourse which, during prosperous manhood, he maintained with men
of genius, intellect, and erudition. But, however little inclined to
pore over Latin and Greek books, his heart was, without loss of time,
turned toward an accomplishment which he afterward found of infinitely
greater value. Almost in infancy he began to show signs of his vocation
for the pursuit which made him one of the most remarkable men, and the
greatest painter, of his age; and his first effort was the copying of
some drawings made by his sisters. He was then in early boyhood, and he
next applied the artistic skill he possessed to the imitation of such
prints as illustrated the volumes in his father’s library; particularly
those in an old Book of Emblems, which was inherited, along with
her Dutch blood, from a grandmother, who had come from Holland. The
clerical pedagogue did not smile on these juvenile attempts, nor did
he look with a propitious eye on the direction his son’s talents were
taking. However absent scholars may be in regard to other matters,
especially those which chiefly concern themselves, they are usually
observant enough when the welfare and interests of their children are
at stake. Even Adam Warner awoke from day-dreams about the Eureka when
he saw the lordly chamberlain whispering soft tales in the ear of his
beauteous daughter; and Parson Reynolds, though so much occupied with
sage reflections that he could only find time to indicate to his wife
by monosyllables whether he would have tea or coffee on an afternoon,
opened his eyes to the fact, that Joshua’s industry in drawing and
coloring, with the rude materials within his reach, contrasted
disagreeably with his remissness in attending to the lessons of the
school over which he presided. Thus he denounced the boyish essays as
the offspring of pure idleness, and the author of them was destined
for the medical profession. Though, perhaps, this was decided on with
little consideration for his own wishes, Reynolds stated in after life,
that if such had been his fortune, he would have exerted himself as
strenuously to become an eminent physician as he strove with success
to be a great painter. However, the paternal views were suddenly and
fortunately changed.
Having, about his eighth year, met with the “Jesuit’s Perspective,”
young Reynolds read and digested its contents with so much earnestness,
that he was enabled to execute a drawing of the school-house on the
principles asserted in the treatise. This, when exhibited in the family
circle, quite astonished the anxious father, who, with gratified
pride, pronounced the execution wonderful; and he began to regard the
juvenile artist’s predilections with comparative complacency. Upon
this, Reynolds devoted himself more arduously to his chosen studies,
took likenesses of the inmates of the house, improved perceptibly in
execution, and quite neglected his school exercises. He was confirmed
in his love of art by reading Richardson’s “Treatise on Painting,”
which so captivated and inspired his mind and imagination, that
Raphael seemed to him the most marvelous name in ancient or modern
annals. Thus charmed and stimulated, he continued to make numerous
sketches and portraits, which were recognized by his friends as
evidencing progressive improvement. Nothing was now wanting but a field
in which to practice and bring to perfection the talents with which he
had been bountifully endowed, to confer pleasure on his fellow men, and
to refine their tastes.
While Reynolds was in his nineteenth year, a neighbor and acquaintance
of the family, observing that a provincial place was too limited a
sphere for the proper cultivation of such powers, recommended that
the aspiring lad should be placed under proper tuition in London.
Accordingly, in the autumn, the future knightly President of the Royal
Academy was on his way to the metropolis, and consigned to the care
and superintendence of Hudson, who, though at the period much employed
in the manufacture of portraits, was not possessed of any surpassing
skill or taste in art. A contract was entered into, that if the veteran
approved of his pupil’s conduct, he was to retain the latter’s services
for a term of four years; but he reserved the power of discharging the
assistant at pleasure. Perhaps, in this position Reynolds was merry
enough; for there were other youths in Hudson’s studio, and on warm
summer days they had opportunities of making agreeable excursions,
rambling about the country and admiring the scenery.
While thus situated, Reynolds had the gratification of exchanging
courtesies with a famous poet, who had aspired, without any particular
success, to excellence in the kindred art of painting. He was attending
a public sale of pictures; and just before the hero of the hour raised
his voice and brandished his hammer, the name of Pope was passed
round, and all respectfully made way for the friend of Bolingbroke.
Those who were near held out their hands; and Reynolds being among the
number, had the distinction of a gentle shake from those bony fingers
which had so often been made the instruments of bitter and brilliant
sarcasm. The wheel of time rolled round; the painter, seated among the
literary magnates of another generation, still felt pride in relating
this interesting little incident; his admiration of the crooked bard
was unabated; he was at great pains to procure a fan on which was one
of Pope’s efforts in painting; and the recollection of their meeting
filled him with satisfaction, even when youths, as in the case of
Northcote, were pressing forward, through crowds, to indulge in the
luxury of touching his own skirt.
Reynolds continued to pursue his artistic career under Hudson’s
inspection for two years, during which he drew many heads with so
unquestionable a success, that he thereby excited and inflamed the
jealousy of his instructor, who foretold, with a pang, that his pupil
would yet arrive at rare celebrity. At length he executed the portrait
of an elderly domestic, who acted as cook in the establishment, which,
on being exhibited in the gallery, was immensely applauded for its
superiority of style. The praise was by no means grateful to Hudson’s
ear. Perhaps it was more than flesh and blood could reasonably be
expected to bear with patience. In any case, he seized upon the first
decent pretext to pick a quarrel with the ambitious juvenile.
The latter had been one day requested to convey a picture to a certain
drapery-painter; but as the weather happened to be rainy, he concluded
that there would be no harm in delaying its delivery till next morning.
At breakfast, Hudson querulously inquired why it had not been taken the
evening before, and was informed that the rain had been the cause of
the delay.
“Well,” he exclaimed, “since you have not obeyed my orders, you must
leave my house.”
Reynolds pleaded for a brief reprieve, but in vain. He asked to be
allowed to write an explanation of the matter, and obtain his father’s
advice. But Hudson was inexorable; he adhered sternly to his harsh
mandate, and Reynolds, going to an uncle who resided at the Temple,
thence wrote to his father that he had been dismissed. The latter took
the affair into grave consideration, held a sage consultation with his
neighbor, Lord Edgecumbe, and directed the young artist to return home.
Retirement to the obscurity of Devonshire might delay the progress, but
could not altogether conceal the reality, of the talents which were to
establish for their possessor so splendid a reputation. His father’s
limited means rendered some effort for independence imperative; and
during the next three years he executed several portraits of much
merit, particularly one of a boy reading by a reflected light. When
viewing these pieces thirty years afterward, he is said to have
lamented that he had made so little progress in art; just as Canova did
a few months before his death, when gazing mournfully on his marble
statue of Esculapius in a villa near Venice.
Somewhere about 1745, Reynolds took up his quarters for a while at
Plymouth Dock, and employed his time in taking portraits of naval
officers and other persons in the vicinity. Most of the likenesses
then produced were good; but the example of Hudson had placed him at
a disadvantage. His sitters were generally represented with one hand
inserted in a waistcoat pocket, and the other stiffly holding a hat.
One gentleman did, indeed, request to be drawn with his headpiece
on, and his desire was complied with; but――alas for the vanity of
human wishes!――when the portrait was sent home, and scrutinized by
the capricious individual’s dame, she discovered, with inexpressible
horror, that the artist, true to habit, had placed a hat under the arm
in addition to that on the head!
Among those whose features he now transferred to canvas was Miss
Chudleigh, afterward the celebrated Duchess of Kingston, a young lady
of surpassing beauty, then on a visit in the neighborhood, and a
Captain Hamilton, of the Abercorn family, whose portrait was considered
admirable. Besides, he made the acquaintance of the future Lord
Keppel, and when that gallant personage was appointed Commodore on the
Mediterranean Station, the artist was invited to accompany him in the
“Centurion.”
Reynolds had, some time before, lost his venerable father; and he had
now to act entirely on his own judgment and discretion. But having
been long and enthusiastically eager to visit Italy, and being in
possession of funds sufficient to defray the expense, he availed
himself of the friendly proposal, and sailed in May, 1749. Having
visited various places of interest, and been introduced, at Algiers,
to the Dey, he landed at Port Mahon, in Minorca, where he was treated
with much courtesy, and entertained with great hospitality, by the
governor. There he added to his skill and means by painting portraits
of many officers on the station; but at the same time encountered, and
suffered from, an accident of considerable severity. One day as he
was refreshing himself with a ride, his horse suddenly took fright,
ran off, and rushed wildly over a precipice. The rider was not unhurt
by the fall; and indeed his upper lip was so sadly bruised that part
of it had to be cut away; so that a scar, which remained visible to
the close of his life, was the consequence. Meantime he proceeded to
Rome, where he had been advised to place himself under the tuition of
Battoni; but on examining the works of that master he deemed it most
judicious to trust to his own perception, and concentrate his study on
the paintings that had stood the test of time and criticism. In this
resolution he persevered, with so little reference to the inclemency
of seasons that he was attacked, while pursuing his investigations,
with a serious cold. The effect of this mishap was permanent. It
brought on the deafness which reduced him to the necessity of using
an ear-trumpet while engaged in conversation, and furnished his
acquaintance (Goldsmith) with the well-known and oft-quoted lines in
the “Retaliation,”――
“When they talked of their Raphaels, Corregios, and stuff,
He shifted his trumpet and only took snuff.”
While at Rome, Reynolds was less employed by English travelers than
might have been anticipated; and he seems to have considered the time
so occupied as being almost lost. Before leaving, however, he executed
an approved likeness of himself, and an interesting parody on Raphael’s
“School of Athens.” He remained as long as the state of his finances
rendered prudent, and afterward gave it as his mature opinion, that any
artist, with large views, should rather live on bread and water than
forego advantages never enjoyed a second time, and not to be found but
in the Vatican. Michael Angelo he regarded as “the Homer of Painting.”
On his way home, at the foot of Mont Cenis, he encountered his old
master, Hudson, in company with Roubiliac the sculptor. The former
hurried on, with hot speed, to gratify his eyes with a sight of the
“Eternal City;” and accomplished his purpose so hastily that he arrived
at Calais in time to cross in the same packet with the pupil, whose
excellence had excited his apprehensions and kindled his ire.
Reynolds had been absent for about three years from England when, in
the autumn of 1752, he had the gratification of setting foot on her
sacred soil. He immediately went to Devonshire, to recruit his health
and inspire vigor from fresh breezes and his native air. Early in
the next year he returned to London, and, quartering himself in St.
Martin’s Lane, commenced his professional career with earnestness
and resolution. His talents were such as, if properly exerted, could
hardly fail to meet with encouragement and lead on to fortune; and
their possessor not only recognized the great fact that unflinching
perseverance was essential to success, but maintained the opinion
that any one aspiring to excel in art must make it the subject of his
thoughts from the time he rises till he goes to bed. Nay, more; he
said that those aiming at distinction must work, whether willingly
or with reluctance, morning, noon, and night, and expect to find
their occupation no pastime, but hard labor. Undoubtedly during youth
he carried this wholesome doctrine too far, in asserting that the
man would never make a great painter who looked for the Sunday with
pleasure, as a day of rest. But it is satisfactory, and ought to be
instructive, to understand――thanks, perhaps, to the dying precept of
Johnson――that he did not act on the pernicious doctrine to the end of
his career.
With all his taste, ease, felicity of invention, and power of rich,
harmonious coloring, Reynolds did not acquire his legitimate position
without a salutary struggle. His boldness, freedom, and brilliancy were
regarded as strange and objectionable novelties. The old dogs began
to bark. The portrait of a pupil whom he had brought from Rome, in a
Turkish dress, and known as “a boy with a turban,” gained notice and
excited observation. Hudson, perhaps nourishing the old wound in his
breast, declared that the youth’s painting was not so good as when he
left England; an eminent disciple of Kneller denounced it, as not the
least like Sir Godfrey’s――it would never answer; and others were by
no means sparing in sharp and invidious strictures. The artist was as
little guided by such remarks as was the disinherited knight by the
well-meant hints of the crowd around the lists at Ashby; but, moving
onward undismayed, he soon convinced the public that he would pursue
his chosen course and win high renown in doing so. He painted the
second Duke of Devonshire with a success which extended his reputation
in patrician circles; and universal attention was attracted by the
noble picture which he executed of his friend and patron, Lord Keppel.
But still his celebrity was too recent to be secure against the winds
and tides of capricious fashion, and a rival artist entered the field.
This was a Genevan, named Liotard, described as having little skill and
no genius, but who, by the patronage of persons of rank, was elevated
to an ephemeral and unmerited position. His works were wanting in
vigor――in fact, such as ladies paint for amusement; and they might have
passed with credit in an amateur exhibition. Such was the man before
whom the star of Reynolds, for a moment, paled, ere it shone fully and
inextinguishably forth. This unequal competitor had his little day; and
then, deserted by those who had mistakenly supported his pretensions,
he sank into the obscurity for which nature had intended him, and
retreated to the Continent.
Reynolds was a thorough Englishman. In other lands he had, with all his
outward coldness, shed tears on hearing the ancient ballad tunes of his
country played in the theatre; and his heart must now have swelled with
no small pride at the reflection that it was the first time a native of
England had been victorious in such a contest. The aspirations which,
for years, he had fondly cherished, were now to be gratified; and he
could rejoice in the thought that future generations would gaze with
wonder on his paintings, and hold his name in veneration. To pursue his
career with befitting dignity, he took an advantageous house in Great
Newport Street, where he lived for eight years. The grace and felicity
of his former efforts brought him abundant employment; his rooms were
filled with noble ladies and famous men; and his popularity rapidly
grew and increased. He was a diligent observer and student of life and
manners, had amassed a large store of general information, and could
appreciate the taste and capacity of his sitters sufficiently to speak
the appropriate word to each. He ever seized on the happiest attitude,
and thus transferred to his canvas the most fascinating glance of the
beauty, the liveliest expression of the wit, and the most thoughtful
look of the judge or statesman. His confidence in his own powers
strengthened with experience; and every new effort was hailed with
encouraging applause.
On the occasion of a visit to his native county, Reynolds accidentally
laid his hand on Johnson’s “Life of Savage;” and standing by the fire,
he leant his arm against the mantle-piece, opened the book, and began
to look through it. Gradually he became so completely absorbed with
the contents, that he continued in this position till he had perused
the volume; and then found his arm quite benumbed, his heart almost
enchanted, and his curiosity raised to be acquainted with the author.
This satisfaction was not long denied him. They met at the house of the
daughters of Admiral Cotterell, and Reynolds was as much delighted
with the conversation of his great contemporary as he had formerly been
interested in his pages. Moreover, he had the good fortune to make a
remark which won, with irresistible effect, on the heart of the sage.
The ladies were mournfully deploring the death of a friend to whom
they were under many obligations; “You have, however, the comfort,”
suggested Reynolds, with grave politeness, “of being relieved from the
burden of gratitude.”
“Oh, how shocking and selfish!” exclaimed the sisterhood; but the man
who had lived on a groat a day, and stood behind greasy screens to
conceal his worn-out clothes, appreciated this remark as being that of
a person who thought and decided for himself. He therefore defended
its justice in a clear and forcible manner, though, perhaps, without
conveying conviction to the minds of the decorous spinsters. At all
events, he was so pleased with his new friend that they left the party
together. Johnson went and supped at Reynold’s house; and thus was
commenced an intimacy which was only terminated by death. Johnson
became a frequent visitor, and went without ceremony to enjoy the great
painter’s society, who, on his part, declared that no one had, like his
illustrious friend, the faculty of teaching inferior minds the art of
thinking.
There is not, perhaps, in the wide world, so full of guile and
selfishness, a fairer field for the cultivation of friendship than that
which lies between the studio of the painter and the desk of the man
of letters. There is little ground for envy, but many incitements to a
generous rivalry; and the intercourse must be peculiarly advantageous
if the artist is endowed with poetic perception, and the author gifted
with an artistic eye. Reynolds and Johnson no doubt experienced, in
their respective pursuits, the benefit of their familiar meetings,
altogether independently of the pleasure derived from those hours of
social enjoyment which were irradiated by the matchless discourse
of Burke, and enlivened by the ludicrous displays of Goldsmith. His
friendship with Johnson led to Reynolds furnishing three papers for the
“Idler”――his first essay in literary composition, and in which may be
traced the ideas which grew into his lectures. The effort cost him much
thought and trouble: he sat up writing them all night, and had a sharp
illness in consequence. Besides this contribution to the “Idler,” he
supplied some notes to Johnson’s “Shakspeare,” published in 1705.
The year 1758 was, in a pecuniary point of view, one of the most
fortunate that Reynolds ever experienced; and he soon gave signs of
his prosperity by purchasing a mansion in Leicester Square, which he
inhabited ever after. It was a maxim with him, that an artist who
marries is ruined for life; and he seems to have guarded the passes
to his heart with singular vigilance, as we do not read of any fair
damsel making havoc in its chambers, though it is quite possible
that some early disappointment may have created this rare aversion
to matrimony. But whatever the origin of his prejudice on this point,
there is no question that a sensible woman who, without being ambitious
of prematurely dissipating her natural roses at midnight parties,
can take a becoming part in the innocent gayeties which brighten the
human heart, is a pearl of price; and why the artist should be the
worse of such an enviable companion any more than a poet or orator, is
a question which does stagger plain men, as it would, perhaps, have
puzzled the most philosophic of British painters. He acted on his
principle by living and dying a bachelor; but, in accordance with the
custom at that period pursued by men of the middle class, he placed one
of his sisters at the end of his board and in charge of his domestic
concerns: thus attempting to secure the comforts of a home without
being subject to connubial responsibility. Miss Reynolds, it appears,
scarcely realized or sustained the character of a perfect spinster. She
was possessed of great wit and talent; and though remarkable for her
good sense, she was too much given to essays of her skill in poetry and
painting to make a model housekeeper. Thus the internal affairs were
not conducted with any excessive taste or regularity; and the table
was distinguished chiefly by a rough plenty; little regard being paid
to order or arrangement. The dinner was generally a scramble, in which
the host took little or no concern; and the guests looked sharply
after their own interests. There was no splendor but great abundance.
Ease was more valued than comfort or elegance. Nevertheless, Reynolds
had furnished his new residence with much propriety, besides adding a
handsome gallery for the exhibition of his paintings, and an elegant
dining-room, often the scene of “the feast of reason and the flow of
soul.” There the literary giant of the day rolled his unwieldy body,
bit his dirty nails, and poured out his copious talk; though often a
little cowed by being face to face with that profound political sage
and prophet who alone could encounter the huge author of “Rasselas”
with advantage. Side by side were the greatest actor of the day,
and the restorer of that English ballad-poetry which fascinated the
young genius of the mightiest of dead and the most accomplished of
living novelists. In an uneasy posture, “staring right on,” was that
extraordinary being “who could write like an angel, but talk like
poor Poll.” With eyes reverentially fixed on men whom he could admire
without comprehending, stood Boswell, the minute chronicler of their
sayings and doings; while the master of the house――mild, gentle, and
unassuming, round in feature, florid in complexion, and of middle
stature――listened with lively, but calm and refined intelligence,
to the colloquial conflict of the wonderful specimens of the human
race whose features his easel has, in immortal colors, transmitted to
posterity.
It is doubtless a proud day with most persons who have struggled into
affluence, when they can set up an equipage of their own. Pepys, in his
gossiping diary, relates the mighty pleasure he felt when that joyous
day arrived for him; when he could disdain the humble shelter of a
hackney-coach, and drive about the park in his own chariot, even at the
disadvantage of having his pretty wife eyed with menacing admiration
by a royal duke. Reynolds conceived that the time had now arrived when
he might decorously indulge in a carriage, which he had magnificently
carved and gilded, the four seasons being emblazoned on its panels. The
pride and propriety of Miss Reynolds were shocked at this display. “It
is far too showy,” she complained with good reason. “What!” exclaimed
the owner, as he regarded his purchase with calm complacency――“would
you have a carriage like an apothecary’s?”
In 1762, the health of Reynolds rendering relaxation and a rural
excursion necessary, he repaired to Devonshire, accompanied by Dr.
Johnson, who thus had a favorable opportunity of seeing Plymouth, in
which he expressed particular interest. Falstaff regaling himself
with cheese and carraway pippins in Justice Shallow’s orchard, or
the Spectator enjoying the ancient hospitality of Coverley Hall, are
hardly more than equal in interest to the sage of Bolt Court, who knew
human nature only as exhibited in the streets and suburbs of London,
being refreshed with an adventure in the country. The two friends
were received with no small respect by men of rank, learning, and
distinction; and entertained at the seats of several noblemen in the
west of England. One of their hosts indulged Johnson with a feast on
new honey and clouted cream, of which the moralist partook in such
quantities, that the hospitable individual grew exceedingly alarmed for
the consequences. Reynolds bore off a prize of another kind――a large
jar of old nut-oil, which was carried home in his coach as a valuable
trophy. The change of air had a most beneficial effect on his health,
and he returned to town in a condition to pursue his labors without
interruption.
Reynolds was an ardent lover of his profession; his pride in art was
high, and he was ever ready, when there was occasion, to stand forward
in its defense. But his character was cold and stately; he deemed it
impossible for two artists in the same line to associate in friendship:
he thought Poetry the twin-sister of Painting, and found his companions
chiefly among literary men. It was natural, therefore, that when the
Literary Club was established in 1764, he should have been one of its
members. A man, however, is known by the company he keeps; and Reynolds
was disagreeably surprised to hear himself spoken of as “one of the
wits.” Perhaps the term did not convey the most pleasing sensation
to a person with a coach of his own and six thousand a year; and he
exclaimed, in alarm, “Why do they call me a wit? I never was a wit in
my life!”
His commissions had gradually become so numerous, that he found it
necessary to have several assistants to work out the minor details: he
had arrived on an enviable eminence; and though artists of ability made
their appearance, he still maintained his supremacy, and constantly
struck out wonders to vindicate his claim to the favor of the public.
In 1766 he painted the Queen of Denmark, before she sailed on her
ill-fated voyage. Coming events cast their shadows before; and he never
went without finding the hapless princess in tears. Reynolds increased
in wealth and reputation; his enthusiasm for art never cooled into
indifference, and he was never so happy as when putting life into
canvas. He rose betimes, and commenced operations; he spoke little when
occupied, but painted rapidly for six hours, and devoted the remainder
to society. He was animated by warm affections, and had a strong love
for children.
Reynolds was not one of the originators of the Royal Academy; but in
1768, when it was instituted, he was waited on by West, and requested
to give his aid in promoting the objects which the undertaking was
intended to serve. He was rather doubtful whether the scheme was likely
to be favored by Fortune; and he was one of those who had no relish for
engaging in an enterprise,
“Save when her humorous ladyship was by
To teach him safety.”
It was, therefore, after considerable hesitation, and a conference
of two hours, that he was persuaded to accompany the American artist.
Then ordering his carriage, he drove to the place where the promoters
were assembled. On entering the room he was saluted by all present as
“President;” but being still convinced that the scheme would prove
a delusion, he declined to accept the honor thus voted to him by
acclamation, till he had consulted Burke and Johnson, who advised
him to consent. The king, whose aid had at first been regarded as
doubtful, came forward to offer the Academy his royal patronage; and
that it might have the semblance of greater dignity, its president was
forthwith invested with the rank of knighthood. The latter was, by no
means, backward in fulfilling the functions with which he had been so
cautious in burdening himself. Of his own accord he undertook the duty
of preparing and reading discourses on the principles and practice of
art, for the instruction and guidance of the students. Of these he
wrote fifteen; the delivery of which extended over several years. They
were pronounced by Sir Thomas Lawrence to be “golden precepts, which
are now acknowledged as canons of universal taste.”
In 1773 Reynolds paid visits to Paris and Oxford. At the latter place
he received, amidst much applause, the honorary degree of Doctor of
Laws, in company with Dr. Beattie, of whom he produced a celebrated
picture on returning to London. About the same date he went to his
native district, and was elected mayor of Plympton. This mark of
esteem from his townsmen seems to have given him particular pleasure.
Accidentally meeting with the king shortly after, at Hampton Court, he
stated that it had afforded him more satisfaction than any distinction
he had met with: “Always,” he added, with the skill of a courtier,
“excepting that which your majesty graciously conferred on me――the
honor of knighthood.”
Sir Joshua was chosen a member of the Academy of Florence, and, in
accordance with its rules, required to furnish a portrait of himself.
This he accomplished with his wonted success; and it was added with
pride to their interesting collection.
In 1780 he commenced a series of allegorical figures for the window
of the New College chapel at Oxford. These were followed by the
“Nativity,” which being sold to the Duke of Rutland, perished in a
fire at Belvoir Castle. About this time he made a tour to inspect the
Continental galleries. On returning, he sustained a paralytic attack,
which much alarmed his friends, but his recovery was speedy; and he
quickly proved that his powers had suffered no decay, by the production
of his “Fortune-teller,” his portrait of Miss Kemble, and that of Mrs.
Siddons, in the full might of her beauty and power, as the Tragic Muse.
While engaged with the latter, he wrote his name on the border of her
robe; and on the great actress looking at the words, and smiling, he
remarked, with one of his most courtly bows, that he could not lose
such an opportunity of sending his name down to posterity on the hem
of her garment. When at work, he is said to have been in the habit
of using enormous quantities of snuff. Thus, while occupied with the
large picture of the Marlborough family at Blenheim, a servant was
ordered by the duchess to sweep up the snuff that he had let fall on
the carpet. However, when the man entered with a broom, Sir Joshua
quietly requested him to let it remain till he had finished; observing,
that the dust would do more harm to his painting, than the snuff could
possibly do to the carpet.
On the death of Allan Ramsay, the king’s painter, Reynolds was, at the
request of his majesty, induced to accept the vacant office. He soon
after produced “Love unloosing the Zone of Beauty,” and a portrait of
the notorious Duke of Orleans. Then he gave his time and attention to
painting the “Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents,” for the Empress
of Russia; who acknowledged his attention by a note of thanks from her
own imperial hand, a gold snuff-box, on which was her likeness, and a
purse of fifteen hundred guineas.
[Illustration: SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS AT BLENHEIM.]
Sir Joshua had now reached his sixty-sixth year; his fame was high; his
influence on the taste and refinement of the country was not disputed;
and his artistic powers remained unimpaired. His career had indeed
been characterized by the strictness and temperance essential to the
possession of “a healthy body and a vigorous mind;” he had realized a
fortune; he had associated with the noble and beautiful of the land;
and his wealth, his heavy purse, and hospitable table, gave him dignity
in the eyes not only of many who were incapable of appreciating his
merits, but of others to whom his fine abilities were no mystery. But
his days were numbered. In the month of July, 1789, while finishing a
portrait of Lady Hertford, he was aware of a sudden loss of sight in
his left eye; and, laying down his pencil for the last time, he sat
for a while in sad and pensive reflection. Goldsmith had already been
laid at rest in the Temple Church; the eyes of Burke had overflowed
with tears, and his voice faltered by the death-bed of Johnson; and the
immortal painter was ere long to follow. He in a short time altogether
lost the sight of his left eye, and determined to paint no more;
yet under this affliction he strove to appear happy, cheerful, and
resigned. His illness was borne with much fortitude, and whatever he
had to suffer was endured without complaint or irritability. He amused
and diverted himself in his drawing-room by changing the position of
his pictures, and exhibiting them to his friends. Besides, like some
imprisoned knight of old, he took a fanciful liking for a little bird,
which became so tame and docile that it perched on his hand, while he
fed and talked to it almost as he would have done to a human being.
At length, one bright summer morning, the feathered warbler made its
escape by an open window; and Sir Joshua was so inconsolable for the
loss, that he roamed for hours about Leicester Square in the hope of
seeing and recovering so harmless and cheerful a companion.
On the occasion of the gold medals being bestowed on the students of
the Academy in 1790, Sir Joshua went thither for the last time, with
all due pomp and circumstance, to deliver an address. With unabated
admiration, he recalled to their memory the triumphs achieved by the
genius of his great idol, and concluded by earnestly desiring that the
last words he should pronounce from the presidential chair might be the
name of Michael Angelo. The crowd being unusually large, a beam in the
floor gave way with a loud crash. All rushed to the door, stumbling
over each other, except the venerable president, who remained silent,
composed, and dignified. Fortunately no damage was done, and the
proceedings were resumed.
Sir Joshua offered to the Royal Academy his collection of paintings by
the great masters at a low price. But, much to his mortification and
amazement, his proposal was declined; and he exhibited them publicly in
the Haymarket for the benefit of his servant Ralph. This transaction
gave rise to the suspicion that Reynolds shared in the profits; and two
lines of Butler――
“A squire he had whose name was Ralph,
Who in the adventure went one-half,”――
were applied with audacious and merciless malevolence. He was soon
beyond the reach of such assailants and their weapons of offense. After
a visit to Beaconsfield, the residence of his mighty friend Burke, his
health and spirits sunk with the rapidity which frequently heralds
a speedy dissolution; and on the 23d of February, 1792, he expired,
with little apparent pain, in the sixty-ninth year of his prosperous
life. His body was laid in St. Paul’s Cathedral, by the side of Sir
Christopher Wren; and a monument, graven by Flaxman, has since been
erected to his memory.