Horace Walpole
Joshua Reynolds·1756
Historical Context
Reynolds's portrait of Horace Walpole from 1756, in the National Portrait Gallery, depicts the writer, politician, and collector who created the Gothic Revival masterpiece Strawberry Hill and wrote The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic novel. Walpole, son of Prime Minister Robert Walpole, was one of the most influential cultural figures of eighteenth-century England, and his portrait by Reynolds captures the refined intelligence and slightly ironic sensibility that pervade his famous letters and memoirs.
Technical Analysis
Reynolds renders Walpole with characteristic warmth and psychological insight, the knowing expression suggesting the wit for which the sitter was famous. The warm palette and the relatively informal composition create an image of cultivated intelligence appropriate to one of the period's most accomplished writers.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the slightly raised eyebrow and quizzical half-smile suggesting Walpole's famous ironic wit
- ◆Look at the relatively informal pose that reflects Reynolds's personal sympathy for this cultivated intellectual friend
- ◆Observe the warm palette and focused lighting that create an image of cultivated intelligence
- ◆Find the psychological specificity — Reynolds distinguishes Walpole's ironic sensibility from the more earnest expressions of his other sitters
- ◆Notice how the portrait captures the author of Strawberry Hill and The Castle of Otranto before those achievements made him famous
See It In Person
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