Portraiture in England in the Long Eighteenth Century

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: Professor Kate Retford
• Assessment: a 1000-word research commentary (20%) and 3500-word essay (80%)
  

In this module we will explore the most flourishing and persistently popular genre of art in eighteenth-century England: portraiture. Following a broad introduction to the genre, and to the business and practice of portraiture, we will consider a series of thematic topics.  

One class will look at portraiture in the context of the rise of exhibitions, from early displays such as that at the Foundling Hospital through to the early heyday of the Royal Academy. Some sessions will focus on key types of portraiture, such as the conversation piece, while others will centre on artists, notably Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. Our class on Reynolds will explore his so-called ‘historical portraiture’, in which he tried to elevate portraits to the status of history paintings, while that on Gainsborough will focus on the concept of sensibility as expressed in his art. As much of the material discussed in these two sessions will consist of female portraiture, another class will look at ‘manliness’ in the period, from club portraiture, through the Grand Tour portrait, to images of the naval and military ‘hero’. Colonialism will be another key topic, focusing on portraits executed by British artists working in India, and portraits of black sitters in Britain.  

The eighteenth century has often been identified as the ‘age of celebrity’, and a class will be devoted to the numerous portraits executed of the most famous actors and actresses of the day. A session on self-portraiture will consider the complexities arising from the artistic gaze being turned upon the self, taking the work of Reynolds, William Hogarth, Johan Zoffany and Angelica Kauffman as case studies. The module will close with a session on family portraiture, and a consideration of the dramatic changes which took place in the portrayal of children across the period. 

Indicative syllabus

• Portraiture, and the business of the studio 
• The conversation piece: sociability and luxury 
• ‘Historical’ portraiture: Joshua Reynolds  
• The art of sensibility: Thomas Gainsborough  
• Exhibiting portraiture from the Foundling Hospital to the Royal Academy 
• ‘Manliness’ in the eighteenth century 
• Looking in the mirror: self-portraiture 
• Eighteenth-century portraiture and colonialism 
• Theatrical portraiture 
• The eighteenth-century family and the ‘new child’