Joshua Reynolds - Ian McIntyre

McIntyre traces Joshua Reynolds' journey from his humble origins as the seventh child of the Reverend Samuel Reynolds in Devon to the splendour and pomp of his funeral at St Paul's Cathedral in 1792. He examines in detail all aspects of his artistic and personal life, including his experimental history and "fancy" paintings as well as his better-known work as a portrait painter, and explains his thinking about art history in the context of his life in eighteenth century England. Reynolds was a central figure in the development of British art, and in this biography McIntyre explores fully the nature and extent of his contribution.