General John Burgoyne
Joshua Reynolds·1766
Historical Context
Reynolds painted General John Burgoyne around 1766, depicting the British officer who would achieve lasting notoriety as the commander who surrendered to American forces at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 — the turning point of the American Revolutionary War. At the time of this portrait, Burgoyne was a glamorous military figure and aspiring playwright. Now in The Frick Collection, the portrait captures the confident officer before the disaster that ended his military career and helped lose Britain its American colonies.
Technical Analysis
Reynolds presents Burgoyne in military dress with his characteristic balance of formality and psychological insight. The warm coloring and fluid brushwork typify Reynolds's middle-period portraits of military men.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the full-length military portrait painted before Burgoyne's later infamy at Saratoga — pure confidence
- ◆Look at the fluid warm brushwork and rich colour characteristic of Reynolds's middle-period male portraits
- ◆Observe the pose balancing formal military dignity with the ease of a man who was also a playwright and man of fashion
- ◆Find the intelligent, composed expression — nothing here predicts the catastrophic surrender of 1777
- ◆Notice Reynolds's ability to project authority and glamour that would later seem deeply ironic given the sitter's fate
See It In Person
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