Horace Walpole
1757
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
About the artist
Artist
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits.
See the richer artist page1757
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Horace Walpole is a 1757 by Joshua Reynolds, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This print shows a man in a powdered wig, facing left with a serious look. He wears a dark coat over a white shirt. The background is plain and dark. The print uses a special method called mezzotint. A metal plate gets roughened with a tool, then smoothed to hold ink. This creates soft tones and bright white spots on the paper. Look up Reynolds, Joshua, Sir to see more of his portraits.
The mezzotint reproduces a painted portrait of Horace Walpole, depicted in three-quarter length pose with his right elbow resting on a table and left hand on his hip. On the table are papers, books, and an inkwell, alongside a pen and a row of books, while a hanging print above shows an antique marble eagle Walpole acquired in Rome. The print was produced as a private plate, with all impressions controlled by Walpole himself and distributed selectively to his acquaintances.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
