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At the beginning of George III’s reign, the 1760’s marked a turning point for British art. In this eighteenth century, Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) and Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), compete for talent.
The exhibition, The Golden Age of English Painting, opens with the confrontation of the two painters through portraits in full foot and intimate studies in the striking resemblance of notables, members of the royal family or personalities. Reynolds’ intellectual ambitions and historical references contrast with the immediacy and pictorial ease of Gainsborough.
These two great masters of portraiture, Reynolds and Gainsborough, have eleva- ted the genre by their psychological insight and their mastery of painting. They never ceased to reinvent, to innovate with approaches of an unprecedented intel- lectual depth.
The lights of Gainsborough and the precision of detail of Reynolds honor their masters by opening the doors to the imagination by a cleverly magnified reality.
Their art redefined the concept of British painting, preceding and inspiring the new Royal Academy with John Hopper, William Beechev and Thomas Lawrence.
Joshua Reynolds Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: Archers
1769
Oil painting on canvas unconfirmed: 236 × 180 cm United Kingdom, London, Tate © Tate 2019